The Worth of a Life
by PhoenixFire55
Summary: The squad is sent to retrieve a girl, but it quickly becomes a mission that could affect the outcome of World War II as Al Capone and the Italian mafia get involved.
1. The New Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Saving Private Ryan.**

The wind whipped across Omaha Beach as six men sat around, smoking cigarettes.

"All right men, we've been assigned a new mission," Captain Miller said as he walked up to them.

"Where we going, Captain?" Private Reiben, the Brooklyn boy said.

"There's a girl, she's been captured by the Germans. We've got to go find her," Miller answered.

"Oooohhh. A woman. I like this mission already," said Reiben.

"Where are we gonna find this girl?" Private Jackson asked in his southern drawl.

"It's a search and rescue mission. We don't know exactly where she is, but we've got the general direction," responded Miller.

"So the eight of us are gonna risk our lives, walking around France, looking for one person?" Reiben asked.

"That's the idea," Miller said.

"As long as she's a woman," Reiben said.

"Let's go," Miller ordered, and with that, they moved out.

A few hours later, the squad was walking up a trail, when big-mouthed Reiben broke the silence.

"Hey, what does this lady look like? I mean, we're not going all over France looking for some ugly chick, right?"

"Reiben, regardless of what she looks like, it's our mission to rescue her," Miller said.

"Awww, man. Now I know she's ugly. You wouldn't have avoided the question if she were beautiful," Reiben reasoned.

"Reiben, I don't know what she looks like," responded Miller.

"Sir, I have an opinion on this matter," Jackson spoke up.

"And what would that be Jackson?" asked Miller.

"Well sir, it seems to me that this mission is a serious misallocation of valuable military resources," Jackson said.

"Let me get this straight. You want to go fight a war, when you could be looking for a woman?" Reiben asked.

"What I mean is, walkin' around France looking for one lady, is a waste of my God-given talent," Jackson said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You won't be saying that when we find this chick," Reiben argued. "Unless…you're not gay, are you?" Moments later, Reiben heard a spitting noise, and felt some saliva hit his uniform.

"I ain't gay, I'm a trained soldier, and should be used as such. I could be sniping Germans right now, but instead I'm looking for a lady who could be anywhere in France," Jackson responded.

"I bet she's already dead," Mellish put in. "But I'm willing to walk across France looking for her anyway. I mean, who knows, maybe she'll reward me with a kiss."

"Yeah, right, Fish," said Caparzo.

Hours later, they arrived at a village. They fought their way through until they reached a church.

The squad slept in the church that night. Or at least, Jackson did.

"I don't know how he does it," Reiben commented. "Look at him, the guy's lights out the minute his head hits the pack.

"Clear conscience," Mellish said. "You know, I'm starting to think this mission was a bad idea, after all. I bet she's dead."

Reiben looked at Mellish. He had been thinking the same thing. Actually, he wasn't worried she was dead, but that she was old. What if she was like, 40, or something?

"This lady better be hot, that's all I'm saying," he said as he shook his head.


	2. Found

In the morning they left the church. After wandering for many hours, they came upon a town that looked like it had been bombed.

"All right, Reiben, Wade, you go check the West side of the town for the woman. Mellish and Caparzo, you check the North side. Jackson and Upham, you check the East side, and Sergeant Horvath and I will check the South side," Miller ordered.

Reiben slowly walked around with his B.A.R., while Wade followed closely behind with his medical equipment.

"You think she's here?" asked Reiben. "'Cause I think this is a bunch of FUBAR. I mean, why would she be in an abandoned town in the middle of nowhe-"

"SSHH," Wade hissed. "Reiben, do you hear that?"

A barely audible scraping noise was coming from the building beside them.

"What should we do," Wade asked. "Should we go get the others?"

"Yeah," Reiben answered. He looked around quickly, and spotted Jackson and Upham a few houses away. "Hey Jackson!" he called out quietly. "Jackson!"

Jackson crept over to where they were standing. Upham followed close behind until he stubbed his toe and yelped in pain.

"SHUT YOU'RE MOUTH, YOU IDIOT!" Reiben whisper-yelled.

"Sorry," Upham whispered.

"There's something in there," Reiben pointed to the doorway.

All four of them crept up to the doorway, guns pointed in, and shouted "DROP YOU'RE WEAPONS!"

The tear-stained face of a 13-year-old girl looked up at them from where she was sitting on the floor, next to a big black dog. The dog immediately jumped up and started growling at the intruders.

"BAD DOG, BACK OFF!!!" Reiben shouted.

"Who are you?" Jackson asked, sniper rifle still pointed at the girl. She just stared at them with an expression of anger and fear.

"Who are you?" Mellish asked, louder than Jackson had, also pointing his rifle at the girl. He and Caparzo had come running over when they hear Reiben yelling.

"Elizabeth Hall," she said in a quiet, yet forceful voice.

"GET IT OFF ME!! HELP!!! BEFORE IT EATS ME!!!!!" Reiben yelled from underneath the dog, who had apparently tackled him to the floor.

"Quiet, Reiben! Keep screaming like that and the whole German army will know we're here!" Jackson said, as he and Upham struggled to pull the dog off.

"Rebel!" the girl called.

"WHAT DID THAT LITTLE PUNK CALL ME?!?!" Reiben roared.

"Rebel, come here. Good boy!" she tossed one arm around the dog as he came up and licked her face.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Reiben yelled.

"You think she's German?" Caparzo asked.

"The question is not is she German, but is she working with the Germans," Mellish said.

"She's like, ten. What does it matter if she's working with the Germans?" Caparzo asked.

"Well, let's find out," Mellish said. "What are you doing here?" he asked, adjusting his rifle so that it was aimed more accurately at her head.

"I don't know," Elizabeth answered, eyeing the rifle warily. The men looked at each other.

"She's lying," Reiben accused.

Wade knelt down on the floor, placing one hand on his knee, and the other on the floor.

"Where are you from?" he asked her.

"New York," she answered. Reiben's slapped his hand over his eyes.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," he said.


	3. Pain

"CAPTAIN MILLER!!" Miller spun around to see Reiben yelling in the street. "IS THIS SOME KIND OF A SICK JOKE?!" Reiben continued to scream, and Miller noticed he was pointing at a girl. "WE MARCH ALL OVER FRANCE LOOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, AND COME TO FIND OUT, THIS WHOLE TIME WE WERE LOOKING FOR A KID?!"

"Reiben, what are you talking about?" Miller questioned.

As Reiben relayed the whole story to Miller and Horvath, the rest of the squad sat down in a circle and began smoking. Elizabeth hung off to the side, Rebel sitting obediently by her side. Wade was also standing off to the side, sorting through his medic pack. He pulled out some bandages and walked over to Elizabeth.

"You okay?" he asked. Elizabeth glanced at the bandages warily. Then she nodded.

"Um…" Wade wasn't sure what to do. "I think-are you bleeding?" Elizabeth glanced down at her hands, which the German soldiers had enjoyed cutting with their knives. She quickly wiped them on her clothes. Wade gently took her right hand. Her head jerked up, she didn't know if he was going to hurt her, or help her.

"How did this happen?" he asked, frowning. She just looked at the floor.

"Did they do this to you?" he asked quietly. She nodded. She looked behind Wade, at the squad, and saw Jackson watching them. Jackson saw her looking at him, and he turned away.

"Hey, Jackson," Wade called, unaware of what had just happened.

"Yeah?" Jackson answered, glancing over again.

"Come look at these cuts," Wade said. He wanted a second opinion, and his only choices at the moment were Caparzo, Mellish, jumpy Upham, or Jackson. Jackson walked over.

"You think they were rusty knives?" Wade asked.

"Huh…" he said. He stood there for a few seconds, hoping the answer would come to him. He didn't want to look stupid. Finally he just gave up. "Man, Wade. What do I know about this stuff?"

Wade looked around, clearly wishing he had asked someone else's opinion. But he didn't want to insult Jackson and call someone else over instead.

"You think it'll get infected?" he asked in a low voice. Wade really wasn't sure. Elizabeth's head shot up, her eyes wide. Jackson looked at Wade, eyebrows raised. He was curious to see whether or not Wade would lie to her. If he lied that meant he didn't want her to be scared. Jackson was hoping he would just tell the truth, because what did it matter if the kid was scared? Jackson couldn't care less.

"It's not going to get infected," Wade told her hastily. "I'll just put a bandage over it."

Jackson rolled his eyes and walked back to the squad. He didn't need to stick around to watch Elizabeth whine about the pain. He sat down next to Mellish., waiting for Elizabeth to start complaining. He waited a few minutes, but didn't hear anything. He turned around to see when Wade was going to start bandaging her hand, but he already had. Elizabeth's was wincing in pain, and she looked on the verge of tears. Those cuts had been deep, but she didn't make a sound. Jackson watched with curiosity at first, amazed that she could do that, but then he turned away in anger. What did she know about pain? Nothing. He hoped it hurt her. Bad.

"And then this BEAST attacked me. It nearly ripped my arm off, but I was able to throw him off me and across the room," Reiben could be heard telling his story.

"Reiben, the thing was half you're size. And you were on the floor screaming for mercy until we came and pulled him off you," Mellish said.

"I didn't want to hurt the poor creature, that's all," Reiben argued. "I heard they might go extinct."

"It was a dog, not a unicorn, Reiben," Jackson argued back.

As if he knew they were talking about him, the dog, Rebel, came bounding up to lick Elizabeth's face. He stopped dead when he saw Wade's blood-covered hands wrapping Elizabeth's blood-covered hands in bandages.

"AHH!" Wade yelled as the dog pushed him to the ground.

"REBEL, NO!" Elizabeth screamed. "Rebel! Come here!"

Rebel obediently sat down beside Elizabeth. Jackson took a step forward to help Wade up, accidentally startling Rebel in the process.

"AHH!" he yelled, as the dog shoved _him_ to the ground.

"HA!" Reiben laughed. " He's not half you're size when he's sitting on top of you, is he, Jackson?"

"REBEL! COME HERE!" Elizabeth yelled. Rebel obeyed immediately.

"Where'd you find that monster?" Jackson asked from the floor.

"I found him on that street," she pointed, and spoke quietly, with a raspy voice, sounding as though she hadn't talked in a while. "I gave him some food, and he started following me around."

"I don't think this is the girl we're looking for," Miller said.

"Thank goodness!" Reiben yelled.

"Are you Elizabeth Hall?" Miller asked.

"Yeah," Elizabeth answered.

"Never mind. She's the right kid," Miller said.


	4. Wandering

"FUBAR. FUBAR, FUBAR, FUBAR. That's what this mission is. Complete and total FUBAR," Reiben complained.

Reiben, Jackson, Mellish, Caparzo, and Upham were sitting on a pile of rubble in the abandoned village. Miller, Horvath, and Wade were talking to Elizabeth, while Rebel stood guard next to her.

"I mean, just look at her. I bet she's not even American and this is all a trap," Reiben said.

The four men turned their heads to get a better look. What Reiben was referring to was the Hitler Youth uniform she was wearing. Elizabeth had a plain face, not pretty, not ugly, and she probably could have passed for a boy if her hair was shorter. She had medium length dirty-blonde hair, and she was about 5 foot five.

In fact, Elizabeth was a total tomboy. She had never worn makeup before, she didn't like boys and dating, and she only wore boy's clothes. She didn't want to be a guy or anything, she liked being a girl. She just wasn't into girly stuff.

"FUBAR is right," Jackson commented.

"She's just a kid," Caparzo said.

"Are you going soft, Carpy? That kid is as good as the emeny," Mellish said.

"I think Caparzo's right," Upham said quietly.

"Ah, who asked you, Upchuck?" Reiben said, annoyed.

"I joined the army 'cause I wanted to help people, and escorting a poor kid across France seems like a pretty good opportunity to do that," Caparzo said.

"I want to help people, just not some stupid little girl," Mellish defended himself.

"How do you know she's stupid?" Upham looked at Mellish, still talking quietly.

"I can just tell!" Mellish was getting annoyed with this new translator.

"It wouldn't matter if she was Beethoven reincarnated, I still wouldn't want to help her," Reiben said.

"We're only about a day or two away from the rest of the army. We just bring her to some General or something, and then this mission is over," Mellish said.

"Not so much," Captain Miller said as he got closer. "You see, we're behind enemy lines right now, with a hostage. We think the Germans left her as a trap. We'll have to go around a different way, not the way we came. They're probably waiting to ambush us somewhere. It'll take us a few weeks to get back."

"A few weeks?" Reiben was outraged.

"We're leaving now," Miller ordered. "There are probably traps all over the place. Wade, I want you by Elizabeth at all times, in case she gets hurt. Reiben, I want you near her too, with you're B.A.R. She'll be the main target of any ambushes." Reiben shot a look of disgust Elizabeth's way.

"Mellish and Upham, you walk behind them, Sergeant Horvath and I will walk in front. Jackson, change position as we walk, and look out for snipers," Miller finished.

After much grumbling and many rude looks directed at Elizabeth, the squad left the town.

"So why is it that the army had to send a squad of Rangers after one kid? Why not just 'we'll get to her when we get to her'?" Reiben asked. "I mean, the army would've gotten to that town eventually, right? Why send the eight of us out for one kid?" Miller looked at Reiben.

"Reiben, she's 13. She doesn't have a weapon. She doesn't have food. By the time the army got to her she would have been dead."

"Which brings us to the question: why isn't she? I mean, how long was she there by herself? You don't really believe they just decided to leave her there, do you? I bet they've got ambushes all over the place. We'll probably all die trying to save her. It just seems like a pointless mission to me. I mean if she's gonna die, she's gonna die. Why take us along with her?"

"Good question, Reiben," Mellish answered. "Why send a squad of Rangers from the _American_ army, to save an American hostage? It's like one of those 5,000 piece puzzles, you know?"

"And how do you she's American?" Reiben asked.

"Why wouldn't she be American, Reiben?" Wade asked.

"She's wearing a Hitler Youth uniform," Reiben said, as if that explained everything.

"They made me wear it," Elizabeth said in an annoyed tone, looking straight ahead. Reiben's head jerked around to look at her, as if he had completely forgotten she was there.

"Just 'cause I'm talking _about_ you, doesn't mean I'm talking _to _you," he said, equally annoyed. Then he looked at Mellish and Caparzo, and spoke quietly. "Look, I _know_ she's not American. She's working with the enemy. Any minute now there's gonna be an ambush. She's just waiting for me to die so she can eat my brains," Reiben said this very seriously, as though he actually believed it, and very quietly. But Elizabeth still heard it.

"You think I'm gonna eat you're brains?" she asked, calmly, still looking straight ahead. Again Reiben's head jerked around, startled that she had heard him.

"Yeah. I've heard stories about the wild cannibals that roam this country," Mellish said, mocking Reiben.

"You just wait and see," Reiben said. "You won't be laughing when she starts dissecting my head. My brain will be the only thing she'll have to eat for weeks. I heard you can live off of one brain cell a day."

"You think I'm gonna eat _you're_ brain?" Elizabeth asked.

"I know you're gonna."

Elizabeth turned to look at Reiben for the first time, glaring straight into his eyes.

"I'd starve."

The rest of the squad laughed as Reiben's jaw dropped. No one had seen that coming. Wade looked at Elizabeth, who was smiling. She had a nice smile. Miller also glanced at Elizabeth, looking like he had just realized something.

"A Hitler Youth uniform? They probably gave you that so they could tell you apart from the rest of us in a second," he said as they came upon a group of dead paratroopers. "Looks like the Germans have already been here. Take the least bloody uniform and change out of that Hitler Youth trash." He told Elizabeth. She walked up to the paratroopers, and tears almost overcame her as she looked at their mangled bodies. She didn't want to take their clothes, it seemed disrespectful. As she pondered over which uniform was the least bloodiest, Wade also looked over the uniforms.

"Captain Miller, sir?" he asked. "They're all covered in blood. How is she supposed to wear that?"

"That's all we have, so unless you want to give her your field jacket, she's just going to have to wear it. It's just a little blood," he told him. Wade looked down at his own field jacket, which was covered in as much blood as the paratroopers'. He looked at the Ranger to his left, which just happened to be Jackson, and who's uniform just happened to be the cleanest in the squad. It was far from perfect, a bit bloody and very dirty, but Jackson had managed to avoid the big pools of blood for the time being. Wade looked at Jackson, a question pleading in his eyes. Jackson didn't understand at first, but then he got it.

"Uh-uh, no way," he said. Wade sighed and looked at Elizabeth again, who was pulling a field jacket off of the corpse of one of the paratroopers. Jackson also watched her. Then Wade looked back at Jackson, and the rest of the squad followed suit, hoping that if Jackson gave up his field jacket Wade wouldn't ask them to.

"No," Jackson said again, exasperated. But the squad could tell they were wearing him down. He tried to ignore their stares, and the pitiful look on Elizabeth's face as she pulled the corpse's arm out of the jacket. Jackson was suddenly very aware of the cross hanging around a chain on his neck. He looked down on it, up at the sky, then back at Elizabeth and the rest of the squad.

"Fine," he said, annoyed. He walked over to Elizabeth, tearing his field jacket off as he walked. He took the field jacket from her hands and took it off the corpse himself. Then he began transferring his ammo to the bloody field jacket. Elizabeth just watched, unsure what he was doing. As soon as Jackson had the bloody field jacket on, he tossed his old field jacket at Elizabeth, nodding to her. She appreciated him wearing the bloody jacket, but she didn't want to look like baby. She could take care of herself, she didn't need any help. And she felt bad, taking away his clean field jacket.

"I can wear that one, you don't have to-" she started, but Jackson just walked away. She put the field jacket on, slowly, uncomfortable with everyone watching her, then the squad got back in formation. Jackson passed by her.

"Thank you," she whispered. Jackson looked at her, nodded again, and for a split-second he was glad that he had done the right thing. She did look pretty pathetic. But only for a split-second, then he went back to scowling.

Captain Miller took a stray American helmet off the ground, then tossed it at Elizabeth.

"Wear that, for when they shoot at you," he told her. She went to put the helmet on, then saw the pool of blood inside it. She dumped it out, but some of the unpleasant substance still stuck to the inside of the helmet. Again Wade wished he could give her his, but he had a medic's cross on his helmet. Jackson noticed, but he wasn't interested in taking a blood bath. Reiben also saw, and he waited anxiously for her to put the helmet on, he couldn't wait to see the blood drip down her face. Served her right. What did she know about war? She should at least have to endure a tiny fraction of the blood he had regularly thrown upon him. Caparzo watched her put the bloody helmet on her head. Reiben watched the blood drip down her face, and didn't get half the enjoyment he thought he would get out of it. He turned away, uninterested in the upset look on Elizabeth's face.

After watching Elizabeth wipe blood off of her face several times, Caparzo finally reached over and took her helmet. He gently put his own helmet on her head, and wore the bloody one himself. Elizabeth turned around to protest, but Caparzo just smiled.

"I don't care what you say, I'm not giving you this helmet back," he told her.

"Thank you," she said, also smiling.

"No problem," Caparzo said. Reiben snorted.

"Yeah, no problem," he mocked. "Disgusting."

"You know what, Reiben?" Mellish said.

"What?" Reiben asked.

"I think you're all talk."

"And _what_ is that supposed to mean?"

"You're always talking like you're some tough guy, but if you ever upset Carpy, well…you wouldn't be much of a challenge to beat up," Mellish said.

"Well, that's an awful lot of talk for someone who I _could _beat up," Reiben said casually.

"What makes you think you could beat me up?" Mellish asked, indignant.

"You wouldn't stand a chance! Besides, if I was gonna beat someone up, I wouldn't waste my time on someone like you. I'd start with you-know-who, over there." Reiben said, with a glance towards Elizabeth. Mellish snorted.

"Reiben, even _you_ couldn't hit a girl," he said.

"I'd hit an old man, if I felt like it! Nobody's above an ass-whooping," Reiben declared. Jackson suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it, Jackson?" Miller whispered.

"Thought I heard something," Jackson answered, peering into the woods next to them.

Moments later gunshots rang out through the woods.


	5. Ambushed

"Reiben, Wade, watch Elizabeth!" Captain Miller yelled.

Reiben shoved Elizabeth to the ground, then Wade dropped to the ground next to her. Rebel laid down next to Elizabeth, snarling at the enemy. Elizabeth put her head down, and Rebel leaned over and licked her face. Reiben stood in front of Elizabeth, blocking the enemy's view of her.

"There are more of them in the woods!" Miller yelled. "Reiben, Wade! Get her out of here!"

Reiben grabbed Elizabeth's shoulder and lifted her up. They ran, Wade following. They fell into the nearest bushes they could find, Reiben still shooting his B.A.R. It was a few more minutes before the fighting stopped.

"Wade!" someone called. Wade scrambled out of the bushes and darted away.

Elizabeth and Reiben heard a light groan coming from someone in the squad. They could hear Wade telling him he would be okay. They could see a body on the ground.

"Come on," Reiben said, getting out of the bushes, with a glance toward Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Rebel followed as Reiben slowly walked over to see who had been hit.

Reiben took one look at Mellish, lying on the ground, and knew it was serious.

"It's not that serious," Wade said to Mellish. Reiben knew Wade was only trying to make Mellish feel better.

"What do you think Wade?" Miller asked.

"He's gonna be okay. The bullet only hit his leg."

Reiben's jaw nearly dropped. Then he slowly began to realize that the fresh blood all over Mellish belonged to the enemy.

He heard a whining noise and turned around to see Rebel pawing at Elizabeth, whining nonstop. Reiben looked at Elizabeth's face and found out why. She was staring at Mellish with a scared look on her face. Reiben looked at the ground. He didn't care, he told himself.

"Reiben, check her arm," Miller ordered.

Reiben shot a pained look at Captain Miller, but he was already busy with his map. Reiben looked at Elizabeth, and sure enough, a bullet had grazed her arm. He walked over to get a closer look, and saw Elizabeth's eyes widen as she noticed her small wound. She bit her lip, worried.

"Don't cry," Reiben said, exasperated. "It probably won't even get infected." Elizabeth's mouth dropped open.

"Jackson, you go help him," Miller said, catching on that Reiben would only make things worse. Jackson glanced down at Mellish, then walked over to Reiben and Elizabeth. Wade tossed him some bandages, and Jackson looked at Elizabeth's arm.

"It's not that bad," he said, looking at her face, and feeling as though he was doing so for the first time. Dirty, bloody, scraped up. He felt a little bad for her. "It'll just sting a bit when I put the bandages on," he said. She nodded, so he wrapped the white bandage around her arm. He heard her gasp as he tied the bandage a little too tight.

"Sorry," he said. She just nodded.

"Thank you," she said quietly. It was his turn to nod.

"No problem," he said. She really wasn't _that_ bad, he decided.

Reiben rolled his eyes.

Rebel sat next to Elizabeth, eyeing Jackson warily. However, once he decided Jackson wasn't going to hurt Elizabeth, he nudged Jackson's hand with his head.

Jackson glanced down at his hand, and was surprised to see Rebel gazing up at him with soft, begging, brown eyes. He actually looked kind of cute. Jackson looked at Elizabeth, unsure of what to do. She was smiling at Rebel.

"He wants to shake your hand," she told Jackson.

"What?" Jackson asked, startled.

"He wants to shake your hand. Just lay your hand out flat in front of him," she instructed. Jackson slowly put his hand in front of Rebel, afraid he might bite him. But instead, to his amazement, Rebel placed his paw on top of Jackson's hand. Looking at Rebel's goofy dog face, Jackson couldn't stop the smile exploding across his face. Reiben, however, was not impressed.

"That's great, Mr. dog whisperer. Anyone could've done that." He pushed Jackson aside and stuck out his hand. Rebel didn't like it when Reiben pushed Jackson out of the way.

"AAAAHHHH!!! GET HIM OFF ME!!!"

Elizabeth and Jackson looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Reiben was lying on the ground, his arms flailing all over the place, with Rebel on top of him.

"Alright, let's get going before another ambush finds us. Caparzo, you help Mellish, everyone else in the same formation," Miller ordered. Caparzo helped Mellish up, Mellish's arm around Caparzo's shoulders. Wade inspected Elizabeth's arm, then nodded at Jackson, satisfied.

"You okay?" Wade asked her.

"Yeah, thanks," Elizabeth answered.


	6. Nightmares

"Let's stop here for the night," Miller said, as they came upon an empty house. Or at least, they thought it was empty. Everyone dropped to the ground as a rustling noise was heard. Miller shot Reiben a look, nodding his head at Elizabeth. Reiben nodded his head once, he understood. Someone was moaning inside the house. A few minutes later, an old man walked out and, crying, dropped to his knees about thirty feet from the squad. The squad jumped up and surrounded him. Reiben stood in front of Elizabeth so that the man couldn't see her.

The old man began yelling hoarsely in French, as the men all pointed their guns at him.

"I…I…no want…trouble," the old man struggled to say.

"Captain Miller!" Caparzo said. "Those bodies!"

Everyone turned to look behind Caparzo, where five bodies lay sprawled across the ground. One of them was a paratrooper.

"What happened here?" Captain Miller asked the old man.

The old man continued speaking in French. Captain Miller turned to Upham.

"He said he found the paratrooper in a tree with a broken leg. He went to a nearby town for help, but when he came back the paratrooper and his family were dead," Upham translated.

"The Germans must have seen the paratrooper and shot them all," Miller reasoned. "Can you ask him if we can stay the night?"

Upham turned to the old man and asked him in French.

"He wants to know if the Germans will come back, sir," Upham said.

"Tell him…no," Miller said, hopefully.

"No," Upham told the old man.

"No? I thought you were speaking French?" Reiben asked, beginning to doubt his abilities.

"That is French," Elizabeth said.

"Oh."

"He said we can stay," Upham told Miller.

"Good," he said, as the squad entered the dark house. Reiben, Mellish, and Caparzo immediately sat down in the farthest corner, pulling out cigarettes, their loud voices and laughter filling the air. Upham and Elizabeth stood awkwardly next to Wade, Rebel sitting on top of Elizabeth's feet. As Wade began walking over to a different corner, he brushed his hand against Elizabeth's arm, signaling that she could follow him. Elizabeth and Rebel did just that. Wade sat down and began sorting through the medical supplies in his pack, while Elizabeth brushed Rebel's hair with her fingers. Upham nervously scampered over to sit next to Wade and Elizabeth. Jackson glanced from Reiben's group, to Wade, and back to Reiben's group. After slight consideration, he sat down next to Wade and began checking his sniper rifle for dirt.

"Hey, how many cigarettes you got? I'm almost out," Mellish asked Reiben.

"Not enough for you," he answered.

"You've got like…," Mellish paused to count the exact number of cigarettes left in Reiben's pack. "Nine!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yeah, you do!"

"No! I'll even say it in French…no!" Reiben said.

A few hours later, the squad had eaten and the old man had gone to bed in another room. But most of the squad couldn't fall asleep. Miller and Horvath were outside checking the map, it was too dark in the house. Jackson appeared to be asleep, and Upham was trying, in vain, to keep his eyes closed. Reiben, Mellish, and Caparzo were still sitting up in their corner, bickering and smoking. Wade was writing a letter to his parents, and Elizabeth was tying her shoe. Over. And over. And over.

"What. Is. Wrong. With you're shoe?" Reiben asked through clenched teeth. Elizabeth looked up at him and shrugged.

"Does it bother you?" she asked, innocently.

"No," Reiben said calmly, lighting himself another cigarette. He knew not to admit that he was annoyed, because then she would never stop. "I'd just hate to see you wear out the shoelaces on a perfectly good pair of shoes. Plus, the friction of you constantly rubbing the laces together could create a spark…which would cause them to burst into flame."

Elizabeth momentarily paused, trying to decipher fact from fiction, causing Reiben to smirk. Then she looked questioningly at Wade, who had just finished his letter. Wade shook his head, smiling at how gullible she was.

"He's lying," he said.

"Ah, what does he know? Is that old guy gonna snore all night?" Reiben asked, irritated once again.

"Hey, you're the luckiest guy here, Reiben," Mellish said.

"And how is that?"

"You don't have to listen to yourself snore!"

"I do _not_ snore!"

"Well how would you know?"

"You two are worse than the old man!" Caparzo said. Elizabeth slowly drifted off to sleep, her back against the wall. Eventually the rest of the squad fell asleep.

A few hours later, Jackson woke up to what sounded like someone choking. Jackson, sitting alone in the dark, put his hand on his sniper rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elizabeth stir. He looked at her face, and noticed she was crying.

"No, help!" she whispered in her sleep. "Please!"

Jackson released his grip on his sniper rifle and sat watching her cry, unsure what to do.

"Help!" she whispered again. Jackson slowly got up and walked over to Elizabeth. He stood above her and thought about what to do. He knew she was having a nightmare, but he didn't want to be the one to wake her. He knelt down beside her and gently shook her awake.

"Elizabeth," he whispered. "Hey, Elizabeth."

She half-opened her eyes and looked at him. Jackson could tell she was only half awake. She stared at him for a moment.

_Why did I wake her up? _Jackson thought. He was afraid she would be angry with him.

After a few minutes he realized his hand was still on her arm. He pulled it away awkwardly and went to stand up. Elizabeth whispered something that Jackson couldn't hear, so he knelt down beside her again.

"What?" he asked.

"Make it stop," she whispered. "Please, make it stop."

"Make what stop?" Jackson whispered back.

"Everything," she whispered, tears still pouring down her face. Jackson just stared at her for a minute.

"I can't," he whispered. He watched as the tears rolled down her face. She looked at him pleadingly, and he could only imagine what she had been dreaming about. He slowly pulled her into a hug, and she cried into his chest. He held her until she fell asleep. Then he moved back over to a different corner and tried to fall asleep again. But a few minutes later, he heard a rustling noise outside. He grabbed his springfield rifle and crept outside, to where Reiben was keeping watch.


	7. Captured

Reiben had already heard the noise, so the two went back inside and woke everyone up, then the squad crept along the trees in between the house and the field. Reiben stayed next to Elizabeth, and Jackson was never too far away. Rebel trotted along next to Wade. It wasn't until they got to the edge of the field that they saw the enemy. A group of German soldiers stood only a few feet away. The attack lost its element of surprise as one of the soldiers turned around and noticed the American squad. In a matter of moments, shots were exploding through the night air.

Reiben stood in front of Elizabeth for the first few minutes, but in the heat of the battle he forgot he was guarding her. Elizabeth froze as a German soldier spotted her and lifted his weapon. A single shot rang out and the German fell to the ground. Elizabeth looked around, but no one around her looked like he had shot the soldier. She knew it had been Jackson, even though she couldn't see where he was.

Elizabeth was completely exposed and out in the open, not knowing where to go. Rebel was nowhere to be found. She backed up towards the woods but she didn't want to go in, afraid she might get lost or shot by some invisible enemy. She was suddenly aware of someone breathing in the woods behind her, but it was too late. A hand shot out from behind her and covered her mouth, while another hand prevented her hands from moving.

"Don't scream," someone whispered urgently in her ear, as they pulled her into the woods. Elizabeth tried to scream, but the sound was muffled by the hand. She struggled against her captor, kicking and attempting to free her hands from his grip. He fell to the ground, bringing her with him. Someone else joined in the fight, and together the two men managed to get her lying on her stomach on the ground. One man held her hands behind her back while the other put one hand on her back, preventing her from getting up, and another hand back over her mouth. The man with his hand over her mouth leaned down so his face was next to hers.

"It's Jackson and Wade," he hissed in her ear. Elizabeth turned her head and, sure enough, there was Jackson's face, dirty from the fight. Jackson and Wade both let go of her and sat down, leaning back on their hands, breathing heavily and staring at her.

"We probably should have told you that first, right?" Jackson smiled, picking up his sniper rifle.

"Why didn't you?" Elizabeth asked, out of breath but smiling. Jackson shrugged.

"Didn't think of it," he said.

Wade watched Jackson aim his sniper rifle, and waited for him to take the shot before asking him any questions.

"Where's Reiben?" Wade asked moments after the German soldier fell to the ground.

"He's still out there," Jackson said.

"He's supposed to be watching her," Wade said, almost angrily.

"I think he's looking for her," Jackson said, as Reiben's eyes frantically scanned the field. They sat in the woods until the fighting stopped. Jackson sniping, Wade sitting ready to dart out if anyone got hit, and Elizabeth, silently watching the enemy fall. Once the fight ended, Jackson, Elizabeth, and Wade walked over to the rest of the squad. It looked like no one was hit badly, this time. But the squad knew that next time would be different. No one's that lucky.

Reiben looked extremely relieved when he saw Elizabeth. Rebel came bounding out of nowhere to see her.

"We're moving out in ten minutes," Miller said. The squad sat down and began eating and reloading their ammo. After about five minutes, Reiben suddenly looked up from what he was doing.

"Where's Elizabeth?" he said quickly. The rest of the squad looked at him.

"Weren't you watching her?" Mellish asked.

"Why do I have to watch her, where's she gonna go?" Reiben said, frantically searching the field. Everyone stood up and looked across at the field. Suddenly, Jackson felt someone kick the back of his leg. He turned around to see a German soldier dragging Elizabeth backwards with a pistol next to her head. He instinctively reached for his springfield rifle, but stopped when the soldier shoved the pistol hard against Elizabeth's head. Reiben turned around to see what Jackson was looking at, and immediately swore at himself for not watching Elizabeth. He surreptitiously shoved Wade, who was standing next to him. Wade spun around, then elbowed Mellish, who in turn elbowed Caparzo, who then elbowed Upham. By the time Upham had spun around, Miller and Horvath had realized something was wrong and turned around themselves. The whole squad stood looking at the German soldier, their weapons on the ground.

"Upham, ask him what he wants," Miller whispered. Upham began frantically talking to the soldier in German

"He says if anyone picks up a weapon, he'll shoot her," Upham said, his face growing pale. Miller quietly swore to himself. Why hadn't he paid more attention? The German soldier must have hidden during the fight, and snuck up on Elizabeth when no one was paying attention.

Jackson's eyes flickered to the right when he saw a black blur zoom through the woods. He tried to catch sight of it again, but whatever it was it disappeared. And Jackson had a pretty good idea of what it was.

The entire squad watched as Rebel prowled out of the forest, baring his teeth. They watched with horror as he slowly crept behind the German soldier, who was still backing up. Rebel could either save Elizabeth, or kill her. They knew that Rebel was going to jump on the soldier, but if the soldier had time to react he might pull the trigger on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's heart beat loudly in her ears as the soldier slowly dragged her back toward the woods. She angrily wondered how she had allowed him to sneak up behind her. If she had been paid more attention she might have heard him, or if she had stayed next to Reiben like she was supposed to, he might have noticed. The squad wasn't even watching her, they were looking behind her. Why weren't they doing anything? Their expressions seemed to get more horrified by the second, and Elizabeth felt her own face do the same thing.

Reiben took his eyes off of Rebel for a split-second and glanced at Elizabeth. He was surprised to see that she didn't look like she might cry. She looked like she wanted to attack the soldier, and for a minute Reiben was afraid she might try and bite him, but he told himself that she wasn't that stupid. But although she looked fierce, Reiben realized that they were scaring her. Their expressions of hopelessness and horror while they stood around doing nothing definitely weren't helping anything. But Reiben couldn't do anything to make her feel better because, well…he was scared too.

Wade was frozen on the spot, unable to think straight or do anything at all. He was used to helping people after they had been hit, not before. Nearly every day he quietly waited for someone to be wounded, but this, this was different.

Jackson caught Elizabeth's eye, but turned away. How could he look her in the eye knowing that she might be about to die and he couldn't do anything to help her?

Rebel gave one warning growl, then jumped. The soldiers knew what to do. As Rebel's strong, muscular body collided with the German soldier's, the Rangers snatched their weapons off the ground and took aim. Wade, being the only one without a weapon, backed up so as not to get caught in the crossfire. The squad knew not to shoot until they were sure Elizabeth was out of the way. In all the confusion, only one shot rang out.

Everyone knew whose gun the bullet belonged to, but even so, each and every Ranger of Charlie Company turned on one another, searching for someone who had stupidly pulled the trigger too soon. Most stares were directed at Upham, some even glanced back at Wade, willing to believe the impossible if it meant that what they knew had just happened, hadn't.

Of course, Wade hadn't sent any bullet speeding through the air at the German soldier. Neither had Upham. Or Jackson, or Reiben, or Miller, Horvath, or Caparzo. Mellish wasn't guilty either. Everyone reluctantly turned their eyes on the only other soldier holding a weapon. The perpetrator was not standing proudly in an American uniform. And unfortunately…neither was Elizabeth.

Sixteen eyes drifted slowly to the ground in front of the German soldier to find a girl and a dog, tangled in a bloody mess. And as seven recently loaded guns were pointed at a German soldier, the only thought running through eight American heads was:

_Who did you shoot?_


	8. Hit

_Why couldn't you just watch her?_ Reiben asked himself. _Check every few minutes to make sure she was okay? Would it really have been that hard?_ But he didn't have an answer for what he did, or rather, didn't do. He could think of a million excuses, he was good at that. He could have a pretty decent argument with himself and everyone else; make everyone believe that it wasn't his fault. He was good at that too. He could blame it on the dog, convince everyone that Rebel had accidentally set the gun off. He could do that, he knew he could. But no matter what he did, he couldn't put that bullet back in the gun. Or make Elizabeth stand up again. And that was all he really wanted to do right now.

_You knew Reiben wouldn't watch her, why didn't you?_ Wade asked himself. _She was right there, you weren't doing anything, why couldn't you just look to make sure she was still there?_ He was blaming himself, and that wasn't fair, he knew it too. But who else was he going to blame? Everyone else was checking their weapons, Wade was just sitting there. _Just sitting there. _That was the one thought that kept running through his head. What was he doing that was so important he couldn't look, just once? He couldn't remember. And that was killing him.

_Rebel or Elizabeth? Whose blood is that?_ That was the first thing Jackson asked himself. He couldn't tell, it was just one big mess. He didn't think about that for too long, but while he was focusing on the prayer he was muttering under his breath, another thought got stuck in his head. _Why aren't they moving?_

The entire squad stood waiting for Captain Miller to make his move. They couldn't shoot until he gave orders to, but if they waited too long the soldier might surrender. Only a few seconds had gone by since the shot had been fired, and Captain Miller was still thinking. If Elizabeth was alive, they didn't have time to waste on a prisoner. But if they had to dig a grave, he might come in handy.

"Upham! Tell him to drop his weapon," Miller barked. Upham spoke in German, and the rest of the squad watched as the soldier dropped the gun. Reiben vaguely wondered if Miller was actually sparing the enemy or just setting up a safer target. He wanted to kill the soldier but even more he wished Elizabeth would do something. Even if it was just a hand twitch, that would be enough. But she just lay there, either out cold or dead. Reiben couldn't tell.

"Mellish, Caparzo, Reiben. Take the prisoner away," Miller ordered.

"Away where, sir?" Mellish asked hesitantly, sensing the Captain's bad mood, and feeling awfully angry himself.

"It doesn't matter. Just get him away from her," Miller said. The three men led the prisoner away, each constantly looking over his shoulder at Elizabeth, who still hadn't moved. Neither had Rebel.

Miller nodded at Wade, who tore his medic supplies off his back and fell down on his knees next to Elizabeth. The first thing he checked was her pulse. Jackson held his breath until he heard Wade sigh in relief.

"Jackson!" Wade needed help and Jackson was the closest. Jackson helped Wade lift Rebel off of Elizabeth.

"Who did he shoot?" Wade said angrily, unable to tell through the blood that coated both Elizabeth and Rebel. Jackson scanned with his eyes, knowing they'd find it faster than his hands. Wade frantically wiped blood off of Elizabeth, trying to find a bullet hole. The first thing he checked was her face, and although she would have terrible scars it would be better than other places. Unless it was her head. Wade felt his stomach drop. Maybe that's why she wasn't moving, he shot her in the head. But she was still alive. Wade gently lifted her head and checked for any blood, but there wasn't enough blood for it to have been a bullet shot.

_Not the neck, not the neck. Please, not the neck. _Wade thought as he wiped at the blood on her neck. No, it didn't look like she was shot in the neck. _Then where?_ Wade thought angrily.

"Her arm!" Jackson said. Wade's heart sunk as he grabbed bandages and sulfa powder, hoping Jackson was wrong and it was Rebel who had been hit. But he was right. Only this time the bullet hadn't just grazed her arm, it had gone right through it.

Reiben, Caparzo, and Mellish took the prisoner to the edge of the field, where they could see Elizabeth, but the German soldier couldn't try any funny business.

"Think she'll be okay?" Mellish asked, squinting to try and see what Wade was doing.

"Well, how fast is Wade working?" Reiben asked, not taking his eyes off the prisoner. That prisoner had taught him a lesson he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon.

"What do you mean?" Mellish asked.

"How fast is he working? If Wade's working quickly, that means he's trying to stop the blood flow before she bleeds to death, or prevent some other disaster. If he's working at a moderate pace, that means he's got time to spare and he's going to use it because he doesn't want to mess up." Reiben answered.

"I can't tell, but it doesn't look like she's awake yet," Mellish said. Reiben felt his stomach drop. Or maybe it was his heart.

"Where's she hit, Wade?" Miller asked, coming up behind him.

"Her arm," Wade said, pulling the sleeve of her field jacket up. She was hit halfway between her shoulder and her elbow.

"Did it hit the bone?" Miller asked. Wade examined it closer.

"It just missed it, sir," he answered.

"Do you think she fainted?" Miller asked. Wade frowned, thinking.

"I think Rebel must have knocked her out when he jumped on them," he answered. Miller considered this, then nodded before walking away. After a few more minutes, Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes.

"Ow!" she winced as Wade continued bandaging her arm. Jackson and Wade jumped, having not realized she was awake yet.

"Hold her other arm down so she doesn't try to get away" Wade said to Jackson, who obeyed. "Elizabeth, your arm was hit but you're going to be okay. It's gonna hurt though, all right?" Wade informed her. Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded, biting the inside of her mouth, trying not to scream.

Reiben winced as he heard Elizabeth cry out in pain. He gripped his hand tightly around his B.A.R. as he heard her moan. He could take the cries, he could take the moans, but there was one thing he couldn't take. The sound sent his hand for his pistol and once it was in his hand he couldn't stop. He shoved it against the prisoner's head. He almost pulled it away again, but then he heard that sound again. That sound. _That sound._ He shoved the pistol harder against the prisoner's head.

"How does it feel?" he shouted. "Huh?"

The prisoner raised his hands in a surrender position, scared to death.

Mellish joined in, pointing his own pistol at the prisoner's heart. "He asked you a question, you piece of shit!"

Caparzo didn't want to threaten the prisoner, but at the same time he didn't want to stop Mellish and Reiben. He wanted the prisoner to suffer for what he did.

"Upham!" Reiben yelled. Upham came over, eager to help. He wouldn't have been so eager if he'd known what they were doing.

"We need you to translate a little something for us so this prisoner understands the position he's in," Reiben said through gritted teeth. "Ask him why he touched her."

"Is this really necessary?" Upham said quietly.

"Ask him!" Mellish yelled, pushing his pistol harder against the prisoner. Upham asked. The German soldier answered nervously, very frightened.

"He said he's sorry, he was only trying to get away," Upham translated. The soldier talked some more, looking like he was begging Upham.

"He said please don't shoot, he's sorry," Upham said, hoping they wouldn't make him translate anymore.

"Of course he's sorry, he's got a gun against his head," Reiben said angrily. "Now ask him why he touched her!" Reiben said more forcefully.

"He already said he was trying to get away," Upham said.

"No, he wasn't. No one knew he was there, he would have gotten away fine if he hadn't taken her!" Reiben suddenly felt very tired and almost stopped, but then he heard that sound again and his anger came back. "Ask him why I shouldn't shoot him."

"Why? You can't shoot him anyway-" Upham was cut off by Mellish.

"Ask him or we _will _shoot him!"

Upham asked the prisoner.

"He said please don't shoot, he's sorry for what he did," Upham said, feeling sorry for the prisoner.

"Liar," Reiben spat the word out. He shoved the pistol hard against the prisoner's head. "You're sick, you know that?" His voice got dangerously low. "She's thirteen. Thirteen and you put a gun against her head!" Reiben grabbed the man's shirt and shook him, still holding the gun next to his head. "You know what it feels like? You know what it feels like to have a gun go off next to your head?" he turned to Upham. "Ask him."

Upham hesitated, so again Mellish slammed his pistol against the prisoner. "Ask him!" Mellish said.

Upham asked the prisoner. The prisoner shook his head, afraid.

"Then I'll show you!" Reiben shouted. Mellish knew what Reiben wanted to do. As Reiben took his gun away from the prisoner's head Mellish's gun took its place. Mellish's gun firmly against the prisoner's head, Reiben put his gun directly behind the man's head. Then Reiben heard that sound again. The only sound that he couldn't handle. And he pulled the trigger. BOOM! The prisoner fell to the ground.

Miller turned around, saw the prisoner shaking on the ground, alive, not bleeding, and knew his men were making him pay for what he did. He trusted them not to kill him, but it didn't matter. He was of no use to them now, and they couldn't bring him along, not with Elizabeth. He deserved whatever they were going to do to him. Miller refused to forgive him, he tried to kill Elizabeth, they were just lucky he pulled the trigger a second too late. Miller didn't blame Reiben, it was his job as Captain to accomplish the mission, not Reiben's. But he knew he could count on Reiben from now on, Reiben wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Miller watched Elizabeth on the ground, obviously in pain. And he promised himself that he would get her home safely, in one piece. He'd never forgive himself if she went back missing a limb…or if didn't go back at all.

Reiben stood over the shaking prisoner, almost wishing he had pulled the trigger when it was next to his head. But instead he had placed it behind his head, so that it wasn't touching him, but he could still hear it loudly. The prisoner fell for the trick, for the first few seconds he thought he'd been hit. Reiben wouldn't let him get away with it that easily, though. He'd come back later. But for now, he was done with him. As he heard that sound again, he felt helpless, worthless, alone. He could take the moans. He could take the pain of a wound. He could take the cries for "medic!" He could take the blood. Those things haunted his every step, his every nightmare. When he heard those things, he just wished the world would stop. But he could take those things because they fueled his anger. They didn't just fuel his anger, they _became_ his anger. But when he looked at Elizabeth, lying on the ground, he knew there was one thing he couldn't take. Because although that sound made him angry, it was a different kind of angry. A confused angry. An angry that didn't make him think of revenge or what he was fighting for. An anger that made him confused and mixed up inside, but must of all hurt. An anger that made him hurt. That sound that she made. One thing that tore him up inside, and reminded him of all the pain, the suffering, the loss. One thing.

The whimpering.


	9. Prisoner

Jackson struggled to hold Elizabeth's arm down as Wade tried to pull the bullet out. Tears poured down Elizabeth's face, and her cries unsettled everyone in the squad. They had heard plenty of soldiers make similar noises, but never a little girl. Never a little girl.

Wade talked to her the whole time, told her it would be okay. Jackson couldn't bring himself to say anything. Confident that Mellish and Caparzo had the prisoner under control, Reiben walked over to get a better look at Elizabeth. He pretended to be loading his B.A.R. while he stared at her arm.

Wade finished shortly after, and told Elizabeth she could get up now. She sat up and leaned against a tree, clutching her arm, still in shock. Wade went to go tell Captain Miller he had finished, but stopped by Reiben on the way. Knowing Elizabeth couldn't hear them, and noticing the frantic look in Reiben's eyes, Wade tried to talk to him.

"She's okay," he told Reiben. Reiben looked over at Elizabeth.

"Huh? Oh. Right," he said.

"I think she'd like it if you went over and talked to her," Wade said. Reiben tensed his jaw.

"What do I care?" he asked coldly.

"You should care," Wade said quietly, almost accusingly.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Reiben asked quietly, menacingly.

"No. It's as much my fault as it is your's, Reiben. I'm saying you should care," Wade answered, barely audible. Jackson came up behind Wade, about to ask him about Rebel, but stopped when he saw the look in Reiben's eyes. He looked... scared.

"Why are you doing this to her?" Reiben asked Jackson and Wade so quietly, they weren't sure they had heard him correctly.

"Doing what?" Wade asked.

"Hurting her," Reiben whispered. "When you die, what's going to happen to her? That's why I don't care. 'Cause it'll hurt."

"Are you worried about hurting Elizabeth, Reiben? Or are you worried about hurting yourself?" Wade whispered back. Reiben just stared.

"Myself," Reiben said forcefully, trying to hide the weakness he had just shown. But Jackson and Wade both knew that wasn't the answer Reiben wanted to give.

"You're lying to yourself, Reiben," Jackson said quietly. Reiben stared at Jackson with an expression that told Jackson he had been right.

"Both of us," Reiben said hoarsely. "I guess I'm worried about hurting both of us."

"You're both hurting already," Wade said quietly. "If she doesn't have anyone in this whole war to hold on to, _then_ what's gonna happen to her?"

"What am I supposed to do? Stop the war?" Reiben asked angrily.

"No. Just talk to her," Wade said. Then he walked away. Reiben looked at Jackson.

"She doesn't want to talk to me," Reiben said it like he didn't care.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Jackson said. "She wants you to talk to her." Then he walked away, too. He had to check on Rebel. Reiben slowly walked over to Elizabeth.

"Hey… you okay?" Reiben asked quietly. Elizabeth looked up, no emotion in her eyes. She nodded.

"Uh… I just wanted to say… to tell you…" Reiben didn't know how to say it. "That I'm sorry," he mumbled. A tiny spark seemed to come alive in Elizabeth's eyes. Reiben stared, was it really that important to her that someone cared?

"It was my fault," Elizabeth said hoarsely. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It wasn't your fault," Reiben said, staring hard at Elizabeth, desperately trying to make her understand that.

"Where-where's Rebel?" Elizabeth asked, suddenly launching to her feet. Reiben stood in front of Elizabeth, blocking her view of Rebel, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Before you look," he said slowly. "Just… he's gonna be okay, alright?"

Elizabeth stared at Reiben, as if she wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly. How could Rebel have gotten hurt? Reiben slowly dropped his hand from her shoulder and waited for her to lead the way. He still didn't like her, but he also didn't want to be the one to lead her to the bloody mess that was her dog. Elizabeth searched for Rebel, finally finding him lying on the ground, not moving. By now, Wade was looking him over, and Jackson was right next to Wade, feeling worried. He liked that dog. Reiben had never seen anyone run as fast as Elizabeth ran to Rebel. In a matter of seconds she was on the ground next to the dog. She looked at Wade, scared, tears running down her face.

"He's okay, Elizabeth," Wade said gently. "The prisoner must have knocked him out with his elbow when he fired his gun. He'll get up soon."

Elizabeth couldn't stop the tears from running down her face, no matter what Wade said. Eventually, Rebel opened his eyes. He slowly lifted his head, and upon seeing Elizabeth, licked the tears off her face. Elizabeth smiled the biggest smile Wade had ever seen. It was contagious. Soon Jackson and Wade were smiling, too. Reiben, however, was not to be cheered simply by a 13-year-old's smile. He walked away with a look of disgust, to mask his real emotions.

Captain Miller planned to move the squad out immediately, so as not to lose anymore time. However, the question of what to do with the prisoner remained a mystery. The entire squad formed a circle around the prisoner, who was trembling. At this point, Captain Miller didn't care what happened to the prisoner.

"What do we do with him, Captain?" Reiben asked, becoming impatient. Captain Miller stared at Reiben for a long time, trying to decide what to do. Reiben was the only member of the squad who never looked away when Miller stared directly at his eyes for a long time. The rest of the squad could take it for a few minutes, but it got quite uncomfortable after a while. Reiben, being the most stubborn man in the squad, never looked away, because Reiben never gave in. And Miller knew that Reiben never gave up, not if his heart was in it. Unfortunately, Miller also knew that Reiben's heart was _not_ in this mission.

"I'm leaving it up to you, Reiben," Miller said. "You're choice." He and Horvath walked away to consult the map one last time before leaving. Miller didn't want to spill any more blood. He knew Reiben didn't have that problem. With the Captain and the Sergeant out of earshot, the remainder of the squad pulled out their pistols and simultaneously pointed them at the prisoner. Everyone except Wade and Upham.

"You can't shoot a prisoner!" Upham said. Elizabeth, who had been petting Rebel, came and stood next to Wade. She looked at the prisoner for the first time. He was no older than nineteen. Reiben, Jackson, Caparzo, and Mellish glanced at each other. Were they really going to shoot him? Yes.

"He surrendered!" Upham continued to protest.

"Shut up, Upham!" Reiben barked. But Caparzo put down his pistol. He had never intended to shoot the prisoner anyway. Mellish, seeing Caparzo back down, was tempted to do so himself, but one look at that prisoner's face changed his mind.

"Who's gonna shoot him?" Reiben asked Jackson and Mellish. Neither said anything.

"He surrendered," Wade said quietly, but forcefully. Everyone stared at Wade, unsure what would happen. Reiben never fought with Wade. You don't fight with the medic.

"Then what do we do with him?" Reiben asked, annoyed. He wasn't asking for their opinions, he was challenging them to argue with him. Upham didn't understand that.

"We should take him to a P.O.W. camp," Upham said quietly.

"A P.O.W. camp?" Reiben asked. "Upham, have you ever seen a P.O.W. camp?"

Upham shook his head.

"You know why?" Reiben asked. Again, Upham shook his head.

"Because in order to have a damn P.O.W. camp we would have to have some damn P.O.W.'s!" Reiben said, annoyed. "We don't take prisoners, Upchuck!"

Everyone looked at Upham. He was the only one who hadn't seen a captain shoot prisoners.

"Is that what you want them to say to you, Reiben? When they capture you? We don't take prisoners?" Caparzo asked. Everyone turned to look at Caparzo, shocked.

"Whose side are you on?" Reiben whispered viciously.

"I think we should vote," Caparzo suggested, not backing down from Reiben's stare.

"Fine," Reiben glared.

"I say we let the prisoner go," Caparzo started.

"Me, too," Upham said.

"I say we shoot him," Reiben said.

"Me, too," Mellish said. Everyone looked at Jackson.

"I say we shoot him," he said quietly. Now everyone looked at Wade. Reiben hoped he wouldn't vote.

"I say we let him go," Wade said as quietly as Jackson. Reiben ground his teeth together. A tie.

"Elizabeth should vote," Caparzo said.

"What?! No way," Reiben said.

"She's the one he shot. If anyone should say what we do to him, it's her," Caparzo decided.

"But you know what she's gonna pick," Reiben hissed.

"He put a gun against her head, why would she let him go?" Mellish asked. Reiben thought about it for a minute.

"Fine," he agreed, grudgingly. He knew what she was going to pick.

"What do you say, Elizabeth?" Mellish asked. Elizabeth stared at the prisoner again. Then she stared at the squad. Why did she have to decide?

"I don't think you should shoot him," she said quietly. Reiben groaned. Everyone put their weapons away. Wade stood behind her and put his hand on her shoulder, a signal for Reiben to just let it go. Elizabeth felt safe with Wade behind her, as if no one could hurt her now. Miller and Horvath came back over. Miller looked questioningly at Reiben.

"Apparently we can't shoot him," Reiben said bitterly, casting a look Elizabeth's way. Miller stared at the prisoner a while longer, trying to decide what to do with him. Finally he instructed Upham to blindfold the prisoner and tell him to walk in the other direction, turning himself over to the first allied forces he ran in to. Upham did as he was told. However, none of them could have predicted what would happen next.

To this day, the squad remains divided over why the prisoner put the gun against Elizabeth's head. Some say he was just trying to get away. Other's, like Reiben, say he had a secret motive, whether it be for his nation or for a more personal reason, they can't decide. However, the entire squad agreed that what the prisoner did next was _not _brave, or courageous… it was stupid. Completely and totally idiotic.

Because after Upham informed the prisoner that they were _sparing his life_, the prisoner proceeded to walk by Wade, who he knew to be a medic. As he passed Wade, he lifted up his blindfold, stared menacingly into Wade's eyes, and spit on his boots. Then he just kept on walking. Wade's expression didn't change, and no one was sure if he was angry, sad, or didn't care. But it didn't go over well with the rest of the squad. In fact, everyone was in a full rage, directed towards the prisoner. Everyone's fingers slipped dangerously close to the triggers on their weapons. Reiben looked at Captain Miller, who nodded. Miller didn't know what Reiben was going to do, but whatever it was it would be okay with him.

Reiben took out his pistol and placed it into Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth stared at the prisoner with revenge in her eyes. She gripped the pistol tightly, but looked at Reiben for further instruction. Reiben could see that she knew how to hold the pistol and pull the trigger, however she didn't know how to aim. Reiben, revenge in _his_ eyes, put his left hand on her right shoulder and used his right hand to hold onto _her_ right hand, which was holding the pistol. He lifted her hand higher and helped her aim, then he gave the signal.

"Now," he whispered in her ear. She pulled the trigger. Reiben knew that there would be barely any recoil from the colt .45 pistol, but he didn't think Elizabeth had ever fired a gun before. Not as much from the recoil itself as from the shock of the recoil, Elizabeth's hand jerked back. Reiben, knowing this would happen, kept her arm steady. Reiben and Elizabeth looked at each other. Everyone in the squad knew that something passed between Reiben and Elizabeth in those few seconds they stood staring at each other. Slowly, Reiben and Elizabeth both smiled at each other. They were still far from friends, but they realized now that they understood each other more than anyone had ever understood them before.

Elizabeth knew Reiben was struggling to understand her, the 13-year-old girl that had suddenly been thrown into his life without warning. But she also knew that Reiben _wanted_ to understand her. And that without a word passing between them Reiben had known that Elizabeth needed the pistol. He had known how she felt betrayed.

Whenever Elizabeth looked at Reiben, he felt like she was looking at him like no one had ever looked at him before. When Elizabeth looked at him, it made him feel like she knew everything about him. But it was her smile that he loved. Elizabeth had this magnificent smile, and she wore it often. _She would make a good salesman_, Reiben thought on more than one occasion. But that wasn't what Reiben loved about Elizabeth's smile. Reiben had seen a lot of nice smiles, a lot of pretty smiles, but Elizabeth's was different. Because when Elizabeth smiled at Reiben, it was like she was telling him that it was okay, that she knew he was a good person. That no matter how many shots he fired, no matter how many grenades he blew up, _no matter how many people he killed_… she knew he was a good person. And Reiben really needed to know that right now.

Reiben and Elizabeth may not have been friends, they may have even hated each other, the rest of the squad had no idea. But they did know that Reiben and Elizabeth shared a special connection. Maybe it was the street smarts they both possessed, from growing up in New York. Or their talents for arguing, or their short tempers, or maybe their stubbornness. Whatever it was that allowed Reiben and Elizabeth to understand each other, nobody knew. Not even Reiben and Elizabeth knew. But what Reiben and Elizabeth did know was that they needed each other, for reasons they couldn't explain. Although they would never admit it to each other.

BOOM! Miller watched the prisoner go down. He wasn't angry, but he did wonder if Reiben had gone to far. Helping a thirteen-year-old kill somebody? But upon closer inspection, Miller discovered that the prisoner was fine, he just had a bullet wound in his arm. Smiling to himself, Miller led his squad away. Miller looked at Reiben as they walked.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Miller asked, regarding the perfect aim Reiben had used to shoot the prisoner exactly where the prisoner had shot Elizabeth. The rest of the squad looked at Reiben, impressed by his aim. Reiben wasn't always the best shot when it came to the colt .45.

"Nah," Reiben admitted, smiling. "I just got lucky."


	10. Surgery

As the squad continued to walk away, they could hear the desperate cries of the prisoner.

"Shouldn't we help him, sir?" Wade asked. Miller looked back at the prisoner and shrugged.

"Nah, we only shot his arm. He's just being a big baby about it," Reiben answered for him. Miller looked back at Wade, wondering _why _he wanted to help the prisoner.

"I would feel a lot better if we did, sir," Wade said quietly. Miller stopped walking.

"I guess we should see if he has information on any ambushes we might meet up with," Miller said. Reiben groaned as everyone turned back around. Miller instructed Upham to ask the prisoner for information. Of course, the prisoner refused. Miller, at his wit's end, put his pistol against the prisoner's head. Still, he refused to speak. Miller looked at Reiben, thinking that his love for arguments might get the prisoner to speak.

"I got this one, sir," Reiben said confidently. Miller and Horvath left to search the bodies of the enemy soldiers they had killed an hour ago for information.

"How are we gonna do this?" Reiben asked the others.

"I thought you had this?" Mellish asked.

"… No, not really," Reiben said, squinting against the sun. Everyone looked at each other, hoping for someone to get an idea before the Captain returned with his bad mood. Reiben noticed Elizabeth smirking.

"What, you got an idea?" he asked. Elizabeth slowly nodded.

"Yeah. Why don't we give him a little operation?" she asked, still smirking. Reiben caught on right away, but he could see the others weren't following. They'd catch on soon enough.

"Yeah, why don't we?" Reiben said, slamming his pistol against the prisoner's head. Everyone stared at him.

"How the hell are we supposed to get information from him now?!" Mellish asked loudly, as the prisoner dropped to the ground. Reiben just smiled as he kicked the prisoner, so that he rolled over onto his back.

When the prisoner awoke, confused, he found himself to be lying on the ground, surrounded by six men, a girl, and a German Shepherd, who were all staring at his stomach.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! If this is his spleen… then what's that?" Mellish asked. Upham translated it into German, and everyone watched as the prisoner's eyes widened. Had they cut into his stomach?

"Ya know, there's big money in kidneys…" Reiben started.

"He's got two of 'em," Jackson finished. Again Upham translated. The prisoner began speaking wildly in German, he could take it if they killed him quickly, but a long, slow death? Bleeding on the ground without his kidneys?

"Better save that. We'll need it for the autopsy," Elizabeth said calmly.

That did it.

As soon as Upham finished translating, the prisoner threw his hands up and began shouting.

"Surrender! Surrender!" he bellowed. Captain Miller came over with Horvath, and questioned the man through Upham, while the rest of the squad (and Elizabeth) stood off to the side, howling with laughter. They had barely been able to contain themselves during the 'procedure.' They had simply ripped the prisoner's shirt open, other than his arm, there wasn't a single wound on him, and definitely not a large, gaping hole in his stomach. The stressed-out prisoner had fallen for their harmless trick faster then they had suspected he would. Once Miller, Upham, and Horvath finished, they looked questioningly at the rest of the squad, who by now, had calmed down and were trying to put on innocent faces for the Captain. Miller just shook his head. He didn't want to know.

"He says he only knows about one other ambush, but he doesn't know where it is. There are probably more," Miller informed the rest of the squad. Finished with the prisoner, the squad moved out again. Reiben lingered behind, pulling Wade along with him.

"Why do you think he tried to take Elizabeth?" Reiben asked quietly, making sure no one else heard them.

"Reiben, I think he just wanted to get away," Wade answered quietly.

"Yeah, but what if he had a different reason, like a… suspicious motive, then what?"

"A suspicious motive?" Wade smiled. "Like what?"

"You know…"

"No, I don't know. You mean like, bringing her back for information?" Then it hit Wade. "Reiben, you don't still think she's a spy, do you?"

"No, not that. I mean, what if he had, like…a personal reason?" Reiben asked, a disgusted look on his face.

"A personal reason? Reiben, you don't seriously think…" Wade looked at Reiben's face. "Yeah, you do. Why would he have a personal reason?" he asked doubtfully.

"He's a soldier, she's probably the first girl he's seen in years, he could have easily gotten away without her but he took her anyways, and he was going away from the direction the ambush came from. Why wouldn't he take her back to the rest of the army?"

"Are you actually worried about Elizabeth?" Wade asked.

"I'm _worried_ that we won't be able to complete our mission, that's all," Reiben said.

"Are you worried about Elizabeth?" Wade asked forcefully, staring directly into Reiben's eyes. Reiben stared back, eyes sharp and ready to fight, about to give a rude remark. But then his eyes softened.

"Yeah," he said softly, turning his head so Wade wouldn't see his face when he said it. "A little bit."

"Me too," Wade said softly. Then it was his turn to look away. "I don't know what I'll do if she dies."

That shut Reiben up.

The rest of the day went by pleasantly, or as pleasantly as a day can go when you're tired, hungry, far away from home, and being chased by the enemy in the middle of the war. So actually, it wasn't pleasant. It was just a vacation from the death that surrounded them, which to the squad, felt pleasant enough.


	11. Guard Duty

They stopped for the night in an abandoned barn, after walking all day. They found a few old candles and lit them, Miller and Horvath fussed over the map, while the rest of the squad sat around smoking. Elizabeth didn't feel excluded and unwanted like she had yesterday. A lot had changed in just one day. But, Elizabeth figured, when you come close to dying each day, things have to happen fast. Still, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a bit surprised at how well they were accepting her.

At first, Elizabeth had felt a bit uncomfortable inviting herself into the circle the squad had made, so as soon as Caparzo, Mellish, and Reiben sat down she sat down outside the perimeter of their circle. But as soon as she sat down, Jackson and Wade sat down on either side of her, expanding the perimeter of the circle so that she was a part of it. Upham ventured over and watched warily, waiting for a rude look from some one in the squad. But Elizabeth had smiled up at him, so he sat down between Wade and Caparzo.

Reiben was the only one who was ever rude to her, but Elizabeth could sense that he was just teasing her. Although Reiben would never admit it, he was only rude to her because he loved arguing with her. Arguing was something he had always been good at, and it was nice to finally argue with someone as good as him. Whenever Reiben joked he looked right at her, waiting for her smile, which always came. His smile always followed.

Reiben enjoyed Elizabeth's arguments and the rest of the squad found them entertaining, but what they really loved were Elizabeth's stories. And she had a million of them. They were always funny, even if it was a serious story she always got them to laugh. They liked the stories, but it was the way Elizabeth told them that made them fantastic. Whenever she told a story her arms immediately started moving, describing whatever she was talking about. Her voice was always changing, so much so that sometimes she did it without realizing she was. She was great at matching voices, especially when she did a Reiben impression. Those were the squad's favorites, even Reiben's.

Of course, none of the stories would be complete without her face. That ordinary, plain face that the squad had looked at with disdain the first time they had met her, was like a mask. She could change her expression instantaneously, always getting the desired expression perfectly. She had every expression mastered, as she was a very dramatic child. Elizabeth had even mastered the expressions of everyone in the squad. Her face may have looked plain at first, but really that was just another one of her expressions. When she smiled it lit up her whole face, and even though she wasn't the prettiest girl around, it's not like she was ugly. Her smile was just so radiant, that you had to smile too. And she had an endless number of smiles. There was the smile she wore when she was laughing, the smile she wore when something was funny, her kind smile, her "I'm up to something" smirk, where she lifted the right side of her mouth, and then the squad's favorite smile. No one knew what to call it, that soft smile she wore whenever someone was upset. First, she would cast them a worried look, which would surprise them because everyone in the squad believes that they hide their feelings pretty well. Then, when she saw that they were okay, a slow, unsure smile would spread across her face. It was a reassuring smile, and whenever they saw it they immediately felt better. In fact, most of the time it made them smile, too.

But the best thing about Elizabeth wasn't her stories. It was the way she cared. She didn't care about some things, like being made fun of. She laughed along with the rest of the squad when Reiben pointed out her many faults. She could laugh at herself, and that's what she did most of the time. When she did poke fun at someone else, they could laugh along with her because they knew she wasn't judging. She was a prime target for teasing because she found it just as funny as everyone else. She made it okay for the rest of the squad to laugh at themselves, too. But it was what she did care about that mattered. She cared about everyone in the squad, and they could see that. Whenever she looked at them, laughter in her eyes, they could tell that she cared about them. She looked up to them, always following whatever they did, whether it was the way they wore their helmets, or the way they ate, she did whatever they did.

To Elizabeth, Wade, Reiben, Jackson, Mellish, Upham, Caparzo, Miller, and Horvath weren't just names on dog tags, they were people. And that's what comforted the squad most. That when they died, they wouldn't just be another casualty number, they would be Wade, Reiben, Jackson, Mellish, Upham, Caparzo, Miller, and Horvath. They would matter.

"Who the hell's out there?" Reiben whispered nervously to Jackson, who was sitting next to him at the edge of the barn. Reiben had pulled guard duty first, and Jackson was pretending he couldn't sleep because he could tell Reiben was skittish, feeling like an open target in the barn.

"An animal?" Jackson whispered back hopefully.

There had been sounds coming from the woods all night, twigs breaking, tree branches swaying. Both soldier's stood with their rifles at the ready, but the noises didn't exactly sound like humans so they were wary of waking the Captain.

Reiben looked at Jackson, grateful that he couldn't sleep, because his heart would have been racing twice as hard if he was out there alone.

Jackson looked at Reiben and, though he was tired, was glad he had stayed up to keep Reiben company, because he could tell Reiben appreciated it. If Reiben had wanted to be alone, he would have given Jackson the silent treatment. Reiben's constant talking was sign that he was both nervous, and afraid to be alone. Of course, Reiben would deny being scared in the morning.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the barn. Jackson and Reiben's heads spun around at the same time, frantically searching for the noise. Elizabeth was sitting up, breathing heavily and looking around her, as if to confirm that she was indeed safe. Jackson turned back to look at the woods, knowing Elizabeth had had another nightmare. He figured she would go back to sleep, and was focused on the noises that continued to echo through the woods when he felt Reiben tap his shoulder. Jackson turned to look at Reiben, who cocked his head towards Elizabeth. Jackson and Reiben both looked at Elizabeth, who was now furiously wiping tears off her face. Jackson realized Elizabeth had forgotten they were on guard duty, and thought she was crying alone. Jackson and Reiben looked at each other again.

"Hey, Elizabeth," Reiben whispered. Elizabeth's head shot up, and they saw the fear in her eyes. Reiben and Jackson looked at each other for the third time, then looked back at Elizabeth. Reiben nodded his head to the spot between him and Jackson, indicating the Elizabeth could sit there. Elizabeth slowly got up, then walked over and sat between them, silent tears still running down her face. Jackson and Reiben looked at each other again, unsure what to do. Both were worried about Elizabeth. Rebel came up from behind them and climbed onto their laps, his head on Jackson's lap and his butt on Reiben's lap. Reiben rolled his eyes and muttered something about a "damn pig." Elizabeth smiled. Reiben stared at Elizabeth, wanting to remember her smile for the rest of his life, but looked away when she caught his eye.

Even Rebel couldn't stop Elizabeth's tears, though. She wasn't sobbing, wasn't making any noise at all. Just silent tears falling off her face. She brushed away at the tears, making her face red. Jackson and Reiben looked at each other once more, hoping the other would do something. Reiben raised his eyebrows and nodded at Elizabeth, signaling that Jackson should do something. Jackson glared at Reiben. Jackson slowly put his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder. She leaned into him, and her shoulders started to shake. Reiben knew why she was crying harder now.

He vaguely recalled a time when he was younger, and had been racing his brother on the sidewalks of Brooklyn. Brooklyn. His family's small apartment seemed worlds away now. He remembered tripping on the sidewalk and scraping his knee. His six-year-old self hadn't been able to handle it. Before he knew what was happening, tears were falling down his face. Silent ones, like Elizabeth's. His brother knew it was no big deal and had groaned at him, calling him a baby. When their mother saw him, she immediately pulled him into a hug, which had made him cry harder. His mom had been worried about him, wondering why she made him cry harder. The truth was, he had been holding back tears with his brother, but once he was in his mother's arms he felt safe and loved, like he could cry his heart out. And he did.

Reiben thought back. That was the last time he remembered crying, when he was six. He had gotten a lot tougher since then, learned how to hide his feelings. Reiben thought of his mom's face. Mom. Man, he missed her. He remembered long days spent in his mom's lingerie store, her talking up a storm while he pretended to ignore her and look at all the beautiful women coming in. The truth was, he had hung on every word she said. Even now, he remembered every story she had ever told him in that store. That store had been his safe haven. His favorite person in the world was always waiting for him in that store, everyday after school. His mom was the only one who had ever cared about him.

Reiben looked at Elizabeth. Again, thoughts of his mom floated into his head. She had always worried about him, he was always distant with her. He was going out with some friends was all he would ever tell her. He had never given her any personal information. She was always trying to please him, wanted to know his favorite foods, his favorite movies. She wanted to spend time with him, wanted him to want to spend with _her_. Reiben figured that was why she talked so much, because she had to talk for the both of them. At some point in her life, talking with her son had become a one-sided conversation. Sure, Reiben made plenty of jokes with her. She would smile and laugh, then he would duck as she went to ruffle his hair. He would never let her do that. Now he would give anything to be back in their small kitchen, her ruffling his hair as she cooked dinner.

A single sob escaped Elizabeth's throat. Reiben grudgingly pulled himself back to the present, where Elizabeth was leaning against Jackson, who still had one arm around her, now gently stroking the back of her head. Elizabeth looked like she was almost done crying. Both of them looked like they were about to fall asleep. Rebel yawned loudly. Reiben, Jackson, and Elizabeth laughed. Jackson and Reiben had never heard a dog yawn before. Reiben was so tired he barely saw Mellish walk out of the barn, cigarette dangling from his mouth, ready for his turn at guard duty.

The last thing Reiben saw before he fell asleep was Elizabeth's smile, and he could have sworn he heard his mom laughing. For the first time in a long time, Reiben didn't feel so far away from home.

Jackson fell asleep with Elizabeth leaning against him, and Rebel lying across him, and for the first time in a year, he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Elizabeth fell asleep between Jackson and Reiben, and for the first time in weeks, she felt safe.


	12. Soldier

The minute Miller woke up, he could tell something was wrong. Elizabeth was gone. He jumped up and went to wake the squad for an explanation. He froze. Miller did a quick head count and came up three men short. Reiben… Jackson… Mellish. Gone. The dog wasn't there, either.

Trying not to panic, Miller jogged outside the barn's front entrance. Empty. He flew into the barn and out the back entrance. He found Mellish leaning against the side of the barn, smoking lazily, finishing up his guard duty. He turned and found the remaining Rangers sleeping, their backs against the barn. Jackson and Reiben were leaning into Elizabeth, on either side of her, Rebel lying across the laps of all three. Looking at the three of them, a wave of realization overcame Captain Miller.

Reiben and Jackson were protecting Elizabeth. The whole squad was. But Miller became aware that they weren't just doing it for Elizabeth. They were doing it for themselves, too. Because every Ranger in the squad believed that if they could save a thirteen-year-old girl, maybe they could live with what they had done. Maybe, just maybe, the number of men they killed could be replaced with a different number. The number of people they saved. One. One life could change everything.

Miller suddenly remembered something his wife had said to him shortly before he left for the war. She had been cooking and talking to him from the stove, while he sat at the table, thinking about the army. He was so preoccupied he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, he would just nod occasionally. Suddenly, she was right next to him.

"John?" she had said. "John, did you hear me?"

He had looked up at her, confused.

"I said there's one thing I always want you to remember. No matter where you are. It's something my mother always told me." At this point, he could tell she was close to tears, but she kept going. "I want you to remember, that to the world you may be one person…" she stared him right in the eye for a moment. "But to one person you may be the world."

Miller stared at Elizabeth, Reiben, and Jackson. That's what Elizabeth meant to the squad. She was their entire world, because if she got home safe, their lives would matter. They would know that, without them, she would be dead.

Elizabeth was their last chance for redemption.

Miller looked at the group one last time. Then he walked back into the barn, gently tapping Jackson's helmet with his fist as he walked by.

For one glorious moment when Jackson woke up, he thought he had fallen asleep in his field in his farm in Tennessee. Then he remembered.

Jackson turned his head and found himself leaning on Elizabeth, Reiben on the other side of her. Elizabeth and Reiben were still asleep. Jackson looked down and saw Rebel, still sleeping in their laps. Jackson stroked Rebel's head, waking him up. Upon waking, Rebel looked around, slowly sat up, stretched, then walked up to Reiben. Jackson gently shook Elizabeth up, pointing to Rebel. Both watched as the dog stared at Reiben intently for a few moments. Then Rebel began furiously licking Reiben's face. Reiben's eyes scrunched up and he moved his head back as he started waking up. He opened his eyes and his expression became one of pure terror.

"AAHH!!" he shouted, before hopping to his feet.

"I've been violated!" he shouted, as he walked back into the barn to get his gear, dramatically wiping at his face. Elizabeth, Jackson, and Mellish followed him, laughing as they got their own gear.

In a matter of minutes, the squad was walking down a well-worn path, pondering the long journey ahead of them.

"Hey, Captain?"

"Yes, Reiben?" Miller knew who it was without turning around.

"You said we'd be out here a few weeks, right?"

"One or two. Why?"

"Just checking," Reiben said absentmindedly, as he scanned the trees beside them. He hoped it didn't show, but he was dreading the end of this mission. Sure, he wanted Elizabeth to be safe, but he didn't know how he could say goodbye to her.

About an hour of pointless chatter went by before they came upon a large field, occupied by a number of battle-worn allied forces. Wade glanced at a group of wounded soldiers on the ground, then looked to the Captain for permission.

"See what you can do, Wade. Take Elizabeth with you," Miller said.

"Captain! Hey, Captain!" an unwounded soldier called Captain Miller.

"Soldier, you want to fill me in?" Miller asked him.

"Yeah, Lieutenant DeWindt," the soldier answered. "99th Troop Carrier Squadron carrying in 300th and 307th Glider Infantry. Are you Captain Miller?"

"Yes, I am," Miller answered slowly. The rest of the squad listened in.

"I'm supposed to give you a message," DeWindt said. "You're looking for a girl, aren't you?"

"We _were_ looking for a girl," Miller answered suspiciously. What was going on?

"Well, apparently there was word from Intelligence that the girl's dead. I'm supposed to tell you about a new mission."

"What?" Miller asked, bewildered. The squad stared, unsure what would happen to their current mission.

"Yeah, some private from the 101st lost three brothers, so they're sending him home. They think he's in Neuville, and they want you to go find him," DeWindt relayed the message to Miller. Miller just stared at the Lieutenant, unable to find a way out of his new mission.

"The name's Ryan, Private… James Francis Ryan, I think," DeWindt didn't understand Miller's silence.

"I can't take that mission," Miller said simply. DeWindt stared at him, stunned.

"But, Captain-"

"The girl's not dead," Miller said calmly. "She's right over there." He pointed. DeWindt stared at Elizabeth, who was wiping blood off her hands, a disgusted look on her face.

"I don't-how can-… look, I'm just the messenger. That's what I'm supposed to tell you, that the mission's off," DeWindt said, shrugging it off as not-his-problem.

"What am I supposed to do with the girl?" Miller asked angrily.

"It doesn't matter, she's dead," DeWindt said, staring at Elizabeth.

"I already told you, she's not dead-"

"She's as good as dead. The army thinks she's dead, her parents probably heard already, I bet it'll be in all the newspapers back home: An American kid killed in France," DeWindt explained.

"Her parents are dead," Miller said quietly.

"So no one cares if she's dead or not. Treat as if she already is. It doesn't matter what you do with her," DeWindt felt bad for the girl, but he couldn't do anything to help her. The squad glared angrily at him. They cared.

"What if we left her here?" Miller asked. Every head in the squad snapped up.

"This is just a temporary camp, we're hoping to move out soon. She'd have to follow us into combat," DeWindt said. Miller rubbed his forehead. He suddenly felt very tired. He was starting to realize that, whether he liked it or not, he liked Elizabeth. He'd never be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.

"We'll take her with us," he decided.

"To Neuville?" DeWindt asked, shocked.

"Apparently," Miller said bitterly. He walked over to a wooden box, sat down, and checked his map. The rest of the squad followed him. Wade and Elizabeth wandered over, having completely missed the conversation.

"We're not really taking her to Neuville, are we, sir?" Reiben asked.

"Yeah, we are," Miller answered. The entire squad stared at him.

"She's not our mission anymore," Miller said, standing up and looking for ammo. Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Then what is she?" Reiben asked quietly. Miller paused, thinking it over. Then he reached down and grabbed a stray M-1 Garand rifle from the ground. He shoved it at Elizabeth, making eye contact for a moment, then walking away.

"She's a soldier."


	13. Author's Note

I am not sure what should happen next in the story, so I was hoping for your opinions. If you have the time, could you please answer these questions?

Who in this story should die, and who should live?

Should I continue with the story after the war, or end it during the war?

Should I use the events from the movie as the squad searches for Ryan, or should I use new events?

If you have any suggestions as to what should happen next, _please_ tell me!

Thank you so much!


	14. The Hedgerows

Miller didn't stop walking until he realized no one was following him. He turned around to find the entire squad staring at him, unsure if they wanted to go through with this. He stared angrily back at them.

"What?" Miller asked. No one answered. "Well?" Again, no one said anything.

"She's not our mission anymore!" Miller said angrily. "This is the only way she can go home." The other members of the squad shifted from foot to foot, took off their helmets, ran their hands through their hair, and adjusted their weapons. No one wanted to answer Miller. Miller rubbed his forehead, thinking of what to do with Elizabeth.

"Alright, look. Reiben, Elizabeth will be your assistant rifleman. Reiben and Jackson, find her some ammo and show her how to fire that rifle. We'll move out in an hour," Miller ordered. Reiben nodded, frowning. He and Jackson went out in search of B.A.R. ammo, beckoning Elizabeth to follow.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked, scared. Reiben kept his eyes forward, scanning for more ammo, avoiding Elizabeth's eyes.

"You're gonna be my assistant rifleman," Reiben answered.

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

"That means you're gonna carry extra ammo for my B.A.R.," Reiben said, picking an abandoned cartridge belt off the ground. He and Jackson quickly began putting in B.A.R. ammo, still avoiding Elizabeth's eyes. When they were finished, Reiben handed the cartridge belt to Elizabeth. She struggled to put it on. Reiben gently took it from her hands and helped her put it on. Then he took her M1 Garand and showed her how to reload it. Elizabeth was able to reload it quickly.

Reiben, Jackson, and Elizabeth walked to the field next to the temporary camp, far enough away that they could shoot their weapons. Rebel came bounding out of nowhere to follow them. The squad was beginning to notice that Rebel followed them, but only made an appearance when he was bored, or when he wanted to be next to Elizabeth. Reiben tossed the rifle to Jackson, who showed Elizabeth how to aim and fire the M1 Garand. She had good aim, and she was quick about it.

"Stay by Reiben and you'll be fine," Miller directed Elizabeth as the squad left the camp. "Just be there with his ammo, and _never_ let go of that rifle."

Elizabeth nodded, looking jumpy. She began pulling at the dirty bandages around her hands.

"Better replace those bandages, Wade," Miller said, before walking to the front of the formation. Wade unwrapped Elizabeth's bandages as they walked. The deep cuts weren't healing well, and Wade knew there would definitely be scars. She'd never forget.

"Hey, Captain?" Reiben asked cautiously. They were too far ahead of Elizabeth for her to hear.

"Yeah, Reiben?"

"What you said about her parents… is that true?" Reiben looked at Miller, pretending not to care.

"Yeah. Yeah, her parents are dead," Miller said quietly.

Everyone got quiet after that. Reiben coughed, then got back in formation. He hadn't known Elizabeth was an orphan.

At the back of the formation, Wade finished wrapping new bandages around Elizabeth's hands.

"Am I gonna die?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"What? No," Wade answered, surprised.

"But… what if… what if I _do_ die?" Elizabeth asked, even quieter. Wade wasn't sure what to say. Reiben and Jackson drifted to the back of the formation to stand next to Elizabeth and Wade.

"…Are you afraid of dying?" Wade asked quietly, looking at Elizabeth. She shrugged, looking scared.

"I don't know. It's not that I'm afraid to die, I'm afraid that… you know how they say you're life flashes before you're eyes when you die?" she asked quietly. Wade nodded.

"I'm just afraid that when that happens… I won't have anything to watch." Elizabeth said. Reiben, Wade, and Jackson looked at Elizabeth. They had never thought about that before.

"Elizabeth… you're not gonna die. I promise," Wade said.

"But… what if you're not there? What if they find me…and-"

"Elizabeth, just stay by me, okay?" Reiben said. "You'll be fine, I'll watch you."

"But what if-"

"We're not gonna let anything happen to you." Reiben said gently. "I promise."

Elizabeth nodded, biting her bottom lip. Then she stared at the M1 Garand in her hands and her face took on an eerily calm look. Reiben knew that look was familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Suddenly, violent flashbacks from his childhood flooded through his mind. Shaking his head, he walked to the front of the formation again, in front of Elizabeth. She was scaring him.

It was starting to get dark when the squad came upon several large hedgerows. There were so many hedgerows that it looked like a maze.

Then came the gunfire. Everyone dove for cover against the hedgerows.

Then they realized that was where the shots were coming from.

"ARRGGHH," someone moaned as more shots echoed in their ears.

The squad leapt up, randomly firing their weapons into the hedgerows, just as a heavy rain began pouring down. As they ran, they could see a body lying on the ground, but no one could tell who had been hit.

Reiben grabbed Elizabeth and dragged her down into an unoccupied hedgerow. Suddenly, Elizabeth was being dragged through the other end of the hedgerow. Reiben scrambled to the other side, but by the time he got there, she was gone. A few seconds later, a single shot rang out.

Reiben felt himself collapse to his knees as all the breath left his body. They had shot Elizabeth.

Upham was standing between Jackson and Wade when they both darted off in different directions, leaving him standing there alone, and confused. He threw himself into a hedgerow, desperately trying to find the rest of the squad.

Miller and Horvath crept along the side of the first hedgerow, trying to get a closer look at the enemy. They got a couple of shots off before they were spotted, and in the confusion, they both ran in different directions.

Reiben struggled to stand up. He grabbed his B.A.R., knowing that he had to keep going or he would be dead, too. Shaking, he shoved himself against another hedgerow and realized his B.A.R. was almost out of ammo. He reached for his cartridge belt only to discover, to his horror, that it was no longer around his waist. Realizing that it must have come off while he was scrambling through the hedgerow, Reiben gulped and looked at his weapon. He would only be able to fire two or three short bursts before he ran out of ammo. He stared ahead of him. He didn't think he would be able to move. How could he let this happen? He promised. He _promised_. Reiben covered his eyes with his hands. If he had been a little faster, Elizabeth might be sitting next to him right now.

But instead there was just an empty space next to him, almost as empty as Reiben felt.

Jackson held his sniper rifle firmly in his hands. He had to remain calm, he knew that. His survival instincts kicked in as he slowly scoped out his surroundings. That was when he realized he was alone. Jackson couldn't remember a single time since he entered the army that he had been alone. Even on the beach... that horrible beach. He had been separated from the company for a few minutes, but never alone. Jackson quickly banished thoughts of Normandy from his head. He needed to think clearly right now. But the only thing he could think of was Elizabeth's smile, Miller's commanding, yet reassuring tone, Reiben's laugh, Wade's caring eyes, Mellish and Caparzo joking around together, and Horvath smiling softly at Miller's jokes. He wondered briefly if the rest of the squad was lost, too, or if they were all together and he was the only one. He had never thought about what it would feel like to be alone. Jackson had never felt so lonely in his life.

He quietly crept along the hedgerows, looking for someone else in the squad. It was eerily quiet, except for the rain pounding on his helmet.

Upham sat by himself in a hedgerow, so nervous he was sweating. He clumsily clutched his rifle with his clammy hands. Where was everyone else? He was starting to think they had left without him.

Wade frantically searched the hedgerows around him, searching for a familiar face. He couldn't see anything through the rain, it was all he could hear. He was cold, wet, and alone. He wasn't afraid that he would die, he was afraid that the others were dying and he couldn't reach them. He was afraid he would break his promise to Elizabeth.

Jackson continued creeping along the hedgerows until he saw a helmet bobbing up and down. He aimed and fired, watching as the helmet disappeared. It wasn't until the helmet dropped out of sight that Jackson started to have second thoughts about whose helmet it was. Had that been an American helmet? Had that been Elizabeth's helmet?

Upham felt fear take control of him. He knew he would freeze up if he ever needed to fire his rifle. His rifle pointed forward, he froze as a helmet appeared in front of him. The man under the helmet slowly pointed his rifle at Upham. _This is it. This is the end._ Upham thought as the man slowly lifted his head.

"Flash," he whispered urgently.

"Thu-Thunder," Upham stammered quickly.

Jackson sighed in relief when he saw Upham's face.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Jackson whispered. Upham shook his head, then followed as Jackson moved down the hedgerow.

Reiben stood up and began walking down the hedgerow, searching for the rest of the squad. He froze when he heard leaves crunching under someone's boot. He tightened his grip on his B.A.R. as the sound got closer. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.

"Flash," he whispered urgently. No one answered.

"Flash," he said again. The figure turned. "FLASH!"

Reiben pulled the trigger.

He watched as the body flew back, the last of his ammo piercing the enemy's skin.

His adrenaline level peaked as a second figure came out of nowhere, frantically trying to load his weapon.

"FLASH!" Reiben shouted as he tossed his empty B.A.R. aside. He stumbled backward as he tore out his pistol. He fell backward, the pistol falling out of his hand. Sitting on the ground, his back against the hedgerow, Reiben reached for his pistol as the enemy pointed his rifle at him. He knew he would never reach it in time.

BAM!

Reiben closed his eyes as he felt his whole world shatter.


	15. Stabbed

**Sorry this took so long! The whole chapter has been revised. Elizabeth is still in the Five Points gang, it will just be explained later in the story. She's also not going to be wounded in this chapter- maybe later, though. The next update will be a lot faster than this one was- again, sorry it took so long and please review!**

When he realized he wasn't feeling any pain, Reiben slowly cracked his eyes open. Two bodies lay on the ground in front of him. Still on the ground, he searched for the one who had saved him.

Next to him, he saw a stone wall that he hadn't noticed before. It was about twice his height.

_How did I miss that?_ Reiben wondered.

Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the wall, as swift as a cat. Reiben grabbed his empty B.A.R. and slid behind another hedgerow. As Reiben watched, the figure collapsed against the wall. Whoever it was, they hadn't seen Reiben.

He nearly said 'flash,' but decided against it. He didn't want to alert the soldier to his presence, just in case he was German. Reiben didn't have any ammo left.

"Flash," Reiben heard someone whisper from behind him. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Thunder," he quickly responded.

Jackson came up from behind Reiben. Reiben quietly jerked his head in the direction the figure had collapsed. Jackson nodded, and they both crept towards the wall.

Wade resisted the urge to curse. He had no idea where he was, no idea where the squad was, and no idea where the enemy was.

But through the pouring rain Wade could just make out a voice.

He glanced around, searching for the source of the noise. He could barely see anything as the rain poured down in the dark. He vaguely wondered what time it was. Midnight, maybe. He squinted, but still couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. Again, he resisted the urge to curse.

"Flash," Reiben said as he and Jackson pointed their weapons at the crumpled body before them.

No answer.

"Ya think he's dead?" Reiben asked. Jackson stared down at the body. He slowly nodded.

"American?" Reiben asked quietly. He could barely see the body, let alone what uniform it was wearing. Jackson squinted, then nodded slowly again, unsure.

Reiben swore angrily, wondering which member of the squad was lying dead at his feet. The soldier was completely covered in fresh blood. Reiben squatted down next to the body and reached for the dog tags. Only, there weren't any. Confused, Reiben reached for the dead soldier's helmet, hoping he would recognize the face in the dark.

And then it moved.

Wade walked a little faster as he heard the voice again. He couldn't hear what it was saying, but it was definitely speaking English. Then it stopped abruptly. Whoever was talking must have heard him coming.

"Flash," the voice said suspiciously.

"Thunder," Wade responded.

"…Wade?" the voice asked.

Wade came around the corner and found Mellish.

"Wade!" he said, sounding relieved. Then Wade saw Caparzo, who was holding his shoulder. Wade could see the blood on his hands glisten in the dark.

Reiben jumped back, landing roughly on the ground. Jackson looked from Reiben to the body, then back at Reiben again.

"It moved," Reiben said. Jackson gave Reiben a questioning look.

"I swear," Reiben said, but even he wasn't so sure anymore. Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

Jackson reached down to the body's neck to grab the dog tags, then looked back at Rieben for an explanation.

"…There aren't any," Jackson said.

"Exactly," Reiben responded.

Suddenly, a hand closed around Jackson's wrist.

"How bad is it, Wade?" Caparzo asked.

"You'll be fine," Wade said, fixing the wound.

And the soldier who stumbled out from around the hedgerow next to them was none other than Corporal Upham.

"Upham!" Mellish jumped a mile.

Upham, having not realized there were other soldiers around him, also jumped a mile. Then he tripped.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Wade asked as he helped Upham off the ground.

"I was following Jackson, but I got lost," Upham said nervously.

"SHIT!"

Wade, Upham, Caparzo, and Mellish all looked at each other.

"Who said that?" Mellish asked quietly.

"Sounded like Reiben," Wade said.

"SHIT!" Reiben shouted as he watched a hand close around Jackson's wrist.

Jackson froze. Reiben leapt off the ground and was standing beside Jackson in an instant. Jackson grabbed the soldier by the scruff of the neck and slammed him up against the wall. He held him a few inches above the ground.

Jackson and Reiben couldn't tell who it was, but they could see the soldier blinking in confusion and annoyance.

"Flash," Reiben said. The soldier didn't answer, instead reaching up to rub the back of his head, which had made a decent crack when it hit the wall.

"Flash!" Reiben barked again.

The soldier stared hard at Reiben for a moment, then spit directly into his face.

"Aw, _shit_!" Reiben shouted, angrily wiping the spit off with his hand.

Reiben stared hard at the soldier. He still couldn't see who it was. He couldn't see _anything_. It was too damn dark. He swore as the rain poured down around him.

"Do you hear anything else?" Caparzo asked. Wade shook his head.

The group of four was making its way towards the general direction the shout had come from.

"Are we even going the right way?" Mellish asked.

"I hope so," Wade said.

The soldier suddenly kicked out, his foot connecting with Jackson's stomach forcefully. Jackson resisted doubling over as he felt the wind get knocked out of him. He slammed the soldier against the wall again. There was a faint crack as the soldier's head collided with the stone wall. He hissed in pain.

"If you're gonna slam me around like that, could ya at least give me my helmet back?" the soldier complained, once again rubbing the back of his head.

Reiben froze. He knew that voice.

"…Elizabeth?" he asked catiously. But if it was Elizabeth, why hadn't she said 'thunder'?

Because Reiben had forgotten to tell her the password. Reiben silently swore at himself.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she stared at Reiben, but she couldn't tell who he was in the dark. How did they know her name? Suddenly, she kicked Jackson again, then punched him right across the face. He dropped her immediately and fell to the floor, holding his nose. Reiben, thinking that the soldier couldn't possibly be Elizabeth, punched _her _in the face.

"_Shit!_" she shouted, falling to the ground, holding _her_ nose.

And suddenly, shrouded by darkness in the pouring rain, all chaos erupted.

As Reiben felt a body slam into him from behind, he spun around and slugged _that_ soldier in the face. Then Reiben felt someone else's fist collide with _his_ face.

As Reiben fell to the ground, he heard various punches being thrown, a few kicks, numerous shouts, and then a _click_.

Six soldiers lay sprawled across the ground, and each of them found themselves staring up at a young girl pointing a pistol at them.

"Shit_,_" someone muttered.

"Damn," someone else mumbled. Reiben glanced around, seeing Jackson, Mellish, Caparzo, Upham, and Wade sprawled on the ground around him, all holding their noses. No one had been able to recognize each other in the dark.

"I don't have it," Elizabeth said in a cold voice.

"Have _what_?" Reiben asked. Elizabeth paused.

"It's on the other side of the wall," she said in that horrible voice that was so unlike her.

Reiben stared at Elizabeth. He was beyond confused.

And then he got it. Elizabeth was mistaking him for someone else.

But who could a 14-year-old girl possibly need to talk to in Germany?

"When will you have it?" Reiben asked. He wanted to know what Elizabeth was hiding.

"Tomorrow," she said confidently.

"…Who did you come here with?" Reiben asked her.

"…Nobody."

"_Who did you come here with?_" Reiben asked more forcefully.

"They don't matter."

Reiben felt like someone had punched him. _They don't matter?_

"…Then why are you following them?" Reiben asked quietly.

"I only need them so that I can get close to it," Elizabeth said calmly.

Reiben stared at her, dumbfounded. She was using them.

He wasn't curious anymore. Just angry.

"What happens after you get it?" Reiben asked quietly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"I'll kill them," Elizabeth responded coldly. She didn't even hesitate.

Now Reiben felt more than punched.

He felt stabbed.


	16. Stolen Cigarettes

Ten tickets to Heaven.

Ten tickets to Hell.

One ticket home.

That was the mission.

Saving Private Ryan was _not_ the mission.

Saving Private Ryan was Miller's mission. Horvath's mission. Mellish, Caparzo, Upham, Wade, Jackson, and Reiben's mission.

Not _her_ mission.

So why did they think she was helping them? Why did they expect _her_, of all people, to _help_ them?

And why were they staring at her like that, like she had betrayed them?

The six soldiers and Elizabeth were sitting against the wall, hands on their noses as the sun slowly rose through the rain. The rain had lightened up a bit, but it was still dreary and wet out.

Elizabeth thought back to earlier that morning, when the rain was still coming down in torrents, and she couldn't see more than a few inches in front of her face.

"What happens after you get it?" Reiben asked quietly.

"I'll kill them," Elizabeth responded coldly.

Everyone flinched in the dark. And then she felt a pistol press against her head. That was when she realized Reiben was standing only inches in front of her, holding a pistol against the side of her head.

"_Traitor_," he hissed, staring viciously into her eyes. But beyond his mask of hostility, Elizabeth could see the hurt.

"I can't be a traitor if I was never on your side," Elizabeth whispered, trying to hold back her tears. Because the truth was, no matter what she told herself, she _wanted_ to be on their side. But she couldn't.

"Then I guess I have to shoot you," Reiben said. Elizabeth closed her eyes and bowed her head. She knew she had it coming.

Then Reiben had a change of heart.

The soldiers on the ground watched in horror and disbelief as Reiben placed his pistol in Elizabeth's hand.

"Shoot me," he whispered, all hostility leaving his face. Now Reiben looked exactly like what he was.

Just a scared boy.

Elizabeth stared right into Reiben's eyes, which were as begging and pleading as a little kid's.

"Shoot me," he whispered again. "_Please. Shoot me."_

Reiben had lost all hope. He'd thought that if he could save Elizabeth, if he could _just save Elizabeth, _then everything would be okay. But now he had to stand and watch as everything he had relied on to keep him going crashed and burned around him. Because Elizabeth wasn't worth saving.

Reiben never would've have asked her to shoot him if he had thought she actually would, but there was still a small part of him that hoped she would pull the trigger. However, to his immense relief, Elizabeth handed Reiben's pistol back to him and put hers away.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. And then there were gunshots.

This time, Reiben didn't even bother to pull Elizabeth to the ground. He really didn't care what happened to her anymore.

Although it was getting lighter out, it was still hard to see more than a few feet in front of her face, so Elizabeth didn't shoot her M-1 Garand. She didn't want to risk any friendly fire.

Everyone ran for the cover of a nearby hedgerow, tripping over each other in their haste to get there. Caparzo was in front, with Mellish right behind. But Mellish was faster, and quickly ran into Caparzo, slamming his nose into his back. Mellish grabbed his face, shouting obscenities, as Caparzo dragged him behind the hedgerow.

Upham tripped over his own feet and fell on the ground. Jackson dragged Upham behind the hedgerow by his pack. Reiben ditched Elizabeth and ran for his B.A.R. Elizabeth, taking this as her perfect excuse to escape and commit whatever crimes she was in Germany to do, darted towards the stone wall. She feverishly began jumping for the top of the wall. On her third attempt, she barely managed to grab the top and, in an amazing feat of upper body strength, began pulling herself over.

Wade stood momentarily, torn between helping Reiben and stopping Elizabeth. He knew he should help Reiben, he was his comrade and, after all, Elizabeth _was_ planning on killing them. But even as he thought that, Wade knew it wasn't true. If Elizabeth had really planned on killing them, she would've had no problem shooting Reiben. And what if she really was a criminal? They couldn't just let her get away.

Wade ran over to Elizabeth while Reiben scrambled around on the ground searching for his B.A.R. Someone began shooting at Wade and Elizabeth. Wade grabbed Elizabeth's pack and pulled. She clung to the wall, but Jackson darted up beside Wade and pulled with him, and, faced with the strength of two U.S. Rangers, she had no choice but to fall. But no one could stop the steady stream of foul language she shouted as they dragged her behind the hedgerow.

Reiben finally found his B.A.R. only to remember that he was out of ammo. Jackson grabbed Elizabeth by her cartridge belt and snatched some ammo. He tossed it to Reiben, and it soared through the air in a perfect arc. Reiben grabbed it out of the air and clicked it into his rifle. The dark morning was alive with the pounding sound of Reiben's B.A.R. as its bullets tore through the enemy.

And then there was silence.

Jackson slowly ventured out from behind the hedge, praying that Reiben was still alive.

Mellish and Caparzo kept a tight grip on Elizabeth's shoulders as Wade followed Jackson. She wasn't going anywhere.

Wade sighed in relief as he saw Reiben surveying the damage his B.A.R. had done to Hitler's Germany. Reiben silently pulled a cigarette out of his field jacket.

"Hey, Doc?" Reiben said as Wade came up beside him.

"Yeah, Reiben?"

"Ya got a lighter?" Reiben asked, cigarette already dangling from his mouth.

Wade smiled as he handed Reiben his lighter. Typical Reiben. He suddenly felt like everything was back to normal. He knew Reiben probably shouldn't be smoking right now, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. Besides, considering all the things that had happened that morning, Reiben deserved at least a cigarette.

"Thanks," Reiben said, handing Wade back his lighter. That didn't seem quite normal. Reiben didn't always thank Wade for letting him use his lighter, which Reiben used quite often. Reiben usually implied his thank you's, with a nod of his head, or a joke. It was something small, unnoticeable, but it really worried Wade that Reiben had thanked him.

Reiben's smoking quickly triggered a chain-reaction. Within minutes, everyone was smoking, minus Upham and Elizabeth. And that's what brought the six soldiers and Elizabeth to sit against the stone wall, smoking cigarettes and holding their noses.

"No thanks, I don't smoke," Upham said as Wade offered him a cigarette. Everyone raised their eyebrows at Upham. Upham looked extremely uncomfortable, so they just shrugged and went back to their own cigarettes.

"So, where's the Captain?" Mellish asked. But no one knew.

"What're we doing with the kid?" Reiben asked in a tired voice.

"We could leave her here for the Germans," Mellish asked. Elizabeth looked pleased about that idea.

"Nah, she could be working with them," Caparzo reasoned. Everyone noticed Elizabeth didn't deny it.

Reiben put out his cigarette. Suddenly, he didn't feel like smoking. He just felt sick.

"_What_?" Mellish asked Elizabeth, annoyed. Everyone turned to see Elizabeth staring at Mellish's cigarette with a tortured longing.

"Don't tell me you smoke," Reiben said in a disgusted voice that told everyone he already knew she did. Elizabeth didn't say anything.

Jackson and Reiben locked eyes. Jackson, who was sitting next to Elizabeth, pulled a cigarette from Elizabeth's pack. Elizabeth's eyes lit up as she stared at the cigarette she never knew she had. Jackson held the cigarette up for Reiben to see. They locked eyes again as Reiben shrugged and shook his head, a silent message between Jackson and Reiben that Reiben didn't care. Elizabeth wasn't his problem anymore. Go ahead and let her smoke her lungs away.

Jackson handed the cigarette to Elizabeth, keeping eye contact with Reiben. Passing his lighter to Elizabeth, Jackson raised his eyebrows at Reiben, an invitation to "do sumthin'." Reiben raised his eyebrows back at Jackson in an attempt to keep his cool. Reiben hated losing a challenge and Jackson knew it.

As Elizabeth took a long drag from her long-denied cigarette, Reiben stood up. He walked by Elizabeth, casually plucked the cigarette from her mouth, and sat down next to Jackson as he put the cigarette in his own mouth. Jackson smiled in a "yeah, I thought so," kind-of way.

Reiben shrugged in an "I just wanted a free cigarette, that's all," kind-of way. But everyone knew what it meant. It was an acceptance, of sorts. Not an its-okay-that-you're-a-criminal kind of acceptance, but a thanks-for-not-shooting-me kind of acceptance. He still hated her, and he didn't know if he would ever get over it. But the message still had meaning.

It didn't mean Reiben was forgiving her, it meant that she was still worthy of stolen cigarettes.


	17. That Fletcher Kid

"I say we leave her here until we find the Captain," Mellish said. "Then he can decide whether we come back or not."

"We can't just leave her here," Wade said. "Captain Miller could be dead for all we know."

"Well, we can't take her with us," Reiben said. "What if she's a criminal?"

"I'm not a criminal!" Elizabeth said indignantly.

"Oh, yeah?" Reiben asked. "Then what are you? A _brave thief?_"

"Maybe we should just wait here for the Captain," Jackson said.

"What if he's dead, like Wade said?" Mellish asked. The squad thought about that. They felt completely useless without someone leading them. Completely lost.

"I say we go look for him," Reiben said.

"Me, too," Mellish said.

"I don't think we should leave her here," Caparzo said.

"Hey, Caparzo," Reiben called. "She's not a little girl. She's a _criminal_. She was waiting to _kill_ us. And now you want to _help_ her?"

"We can't just leave her here to die," Caparzo said.

"_I_ can," Reiben said. He stood up, grabbed his gear, and waited. Mellish followed Reiben's lead. Caparzo followed Mellish, still struggling with his conscience. Jackson, deciding they would come back for her, followed Caparzo.

"She's just a kid," Wade said quietly. But he followed the squad anyway. If they were going, so was he.

As Reiben walked away, he caught a glimpse of Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye. He felt something strange as he saw her turn and walk the other way. Not exactly sadness… more like defeat. It was over. Now it was all about Ryan.

They walked around the hedgerows for about half an hour, searching for the Captain. Finally, they heard someone around the corner. But before they could investigate any further, ten figures closed in behind them, and each soldier felt their weapon being pulled out of their grasp as a hand closed over their mouth. They heard American voices yelling, and then there was darkness as a blunt object slammed into their heads.

"Mmpphh! Mmpphh!"

The light slowly poured in through Mellish's half-closed eyelids as someone began shouting. Mellish opened his eyes all the way. His head was throbbing. He tried to reach his hand up to rub his head with, but found that he couldn't. His hands were tied behind his back. He glanced down. Their was another rope, this one wound tightly around his stomach and tying him to… what? His eyes followed the rope to… oh no. Mellish groaned.

Reiben only shouted louder when he realized he was tied to Mellish.

"Mmpphh! Mmpphh!"

And, listening to Reiben, Mellish realized that they both had rags in their mouths.

Jackson couldn't tell who he was tied to. He turned to his right, where, a few feet away, Reiben was still trying to yell through his rag. Mellish, tied to Reiben, was trying to use his shoulder to untie the rag in his mouth. It wasn't working. Jackson turned to his left and saw Upham, still unconscious, tied to Caparzo, who was staring somewhere in front of him. That meant that he was tied to Wade.

Jackson looked where Caparzo was staring. It was the wall, but they were on the opposite side than before. Great. Someone must have dragged them over the wall and tied them up. He glanced around.

There were about fifteen men in front of the soldiers. But they weren't wearing military uniforms. They were wearing suits and long, black, trench coats. A gun rested in each of their black-gloved hands. A black hat on each of their heads added to the mysterious look.

One of the men walked up to Reiben, holding a large gun lazily in his black-gloved hands. He looked about twenty-three. As he adjusted the gun in his hands, Jackson could see that he only had four fingers on his right hand.

The man tore the rag out of Reiben's mouth and slammed his gun into Reiben's jaw. Then he motioned for the rest of his men to do the same to the other soldiers. The night was alive with the cracks of guns against jaws.

"So glad you could join us Richard," the man said. "Or do you go by Private Reiben now?"

"_Pignani_?" Reiben asked in amazement. He remembered Pignani from high school. A real creep.

"Surprised?" Pignani taunted. "Scared of the great Pignani?"

"_Piggy _Pignani?" Reiben asked, still not over the shock. Pignani slammed his gun into Reiben's jaw again.

"Listen, Reiben," Pignani said. "I still remember what you used to call my mother."

"_That's_ why you're doing this?" Reiben practically yelled. "Because I called you're mom fat? That was five years ago, man! Just forget it!"

_Great_, Jackson thought. _Now we're all gonna die because of Reiben's big mouth._

"No, Reiben," Pignani said. "That's not why you're here. I need you to tell me where the girl is."

"_What_?" Reiben asked. "What girl?"

"The girl who came here with you," Pignani said.

"Have you been _following_ me?" Reiben asked.

"Tell me where the girl is!" Pignani shouted, spraying Reiben with saliva as he did so.

"I don't know!" Reiben said.

"You're lying!" Pignani shouted.

"I'm not!" Reiben shouted back. Then Pignani's voice got dangerously quiet.

"Listen, Reiben," he hissed. "There's no one out here to help you. No one's going to hear you scream when I torture you. You're. All. Alone."

And then someone coughed from behind him.

Pignani spun around, and Elizabeth, beer bottle in hand, punched him in the face. He fell to the ground, and Elizabeth lifted her beer to take a drink, but Pignani jumped back up and shoved Elizabeth into the wall, sloshing the beer all over her.

"Hey!" Elizabeth shouted. "You just spilled my beer!"

"You stole that from my jeep!" Pignani shouted.

"You know, that's a very selfish attitude," Elizabeth said. Recognition suddenly took over Pignani's face.

"Well, if it isn't Light-Fingered Fletcher," he said in a cold voice. Reiben stared at Elizabeth. Fletcher? Elizabeth _Fletcher_? That name was too familiar.

"Hey, Pignani," Elizabeth said in a tired voice.

"What are you trying to do?" Pignani asked her. Then he noticed she was wearing a military uniform. Anger flitted over his face, but it was quickly replaced by amusement.

"So this is who they sent to stop the indestructible Five Points Gang, huh? Not a soldier. Not even a man. The entire Allied military force, and they send _you_."

Elizabeth gave a little shrug. "How've you been, Pignani?"

Reiben stared at Elizabeth's calm, blue eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Pignani took a step closer to Elizabeth.

"I warned Ellison," he said in a disgusted voice. "Told him what you were."

"And… what am I?" Elizabeth asked, confused.

"Scum," he spat.

"Ah," Elizabeth said, nodding as she dramatically wiped the spit from her face. Under any other circumstances, Reiben would have smiled. This was the Elizabeth he knew.

"You're a traitor," Pignani continued. "You know what time it is?"

"You know what, Pignani?" Elizabeth asked. "I love your riddles, I really do. But it's probably about time I get going. So I'll just be needing that box over there, and then I can get out of your way-_AGH_!" She shouted in surprise as he punched her in the stomach. She hissed in pain as she doubled-over, dropping her beer bottle.

"Time to die," he whispered.

"Aha," she said, still wincing and clutching her stomach. She slowly straightened up and brushed off her combat fatigues. "So… I haven't seen your pig of a mother in a while. How is she?"

He punched her across the face. This time she howled as she grabbed her nose. The force of his fist sent her stumbling backwards, and she fell on the ground.

"I was just trying to make conversation!" she shouted indignantly from the ground, her voice muffled by her hand. She slowly got up and wiped the blood from her nose. Pignani grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall. Her head cracked against the stone for the second time that day.

"You're still upset about that time I almost made you explode aren't you?" she gagged as she frantically tried to release herself from his strong grip. "I can tell."

Wade struggled against the ropes as he watched her choke.

"You never stop talking, do you?" Pignani hissed.

"I don't _have_ to talk," she said, still struggling to say anything. "I can be quiet." A moment passed. "So, what's in the box? Tell me, is it a person? It's not Capone you've got stuffed away in there, is it?"

"What are you gonna do?" Pignani asked mockingly. "Tie me up and take the box to the Allies, huh? Then you'll take out Ellison and Capone? And, for the grand finale, you'll go home and kill the entire mob with your _bare hands_. Elizabeth Fletcher, American Hero. Was that your plan?"

"Actually, I was gonna kick _your_ ass, kick your _thugs' _asses, steal the box, take what I want from it and give the rest to the Allies, and then… I don't know… maybe start my own fireworks company," she said. Pignani's face became angry again, and he lifted her higher against the wall. Elizabeth, struggling to breath, still refused to give up.

"But that's not workin' out so well for me," she coughed out. "How's _your _morning going?"

"Well, let's see," he said. "I'm about to kill _you_, then I'm gonna kill your friends in the bushes-"

Elizabeth frowned. She turned to the bushes and saw Miller and Horvath tied together. The rest of the squad followed her gaze. They hadn't noticed their Captain before.

"Didn't see that one coming, did ya?" Pignani sneered. "You see, Fletcher, the thing about you is… you're really not that clever. You underestimate everyone, especially yourself. So when I kill you, it really won't be much of a loss. That's right, the world _can_ go on without you. But, eight soldiers? Well, that's _quite_ the casualty list." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "And you know what, Fletcher? I'm not gonna fall for it this time. You always have a back-up plan, and I'm not gonna walk into your trap again."

"You already did," Elizabeth said, dead serious. Pignani stiffened. Then Elizabeth smiled. "Gotcha. You see, Pignani, the thing about you is… you overestimate everyone, especially yourself, But you _definitely _overestimated me. What did you think I was gonna do? Rig the whole place with bombs? Nah, I did that last time, remember? You remember. Ya think I got forty snipers surrounding the place? A couple machine gunners? Maybe even a bazooka? Come on, Pignani, it's me. _Elizabeth Fletcher_. Think realistically, will ya? That's too complicated. Too hard. Too _smart_, if you will. No, I wouldn't do that. Capone might. Ellison might. _You_ might. Now, _me_? Well, I'd just do… oh, I don't know… something like _this_."

Pignani felt a pistol jut into his stomach.

"You know, I'd really like an apology," Elizabeth said. "That rude little speech you just made was _seeping_ with attitude. _And_ you spilled my beer. Oh, and I'd suggest you put me down right about… _now._ Yeah, right now would be good." Pignani dropped her. Elizabeth pointed the pistol at his face and slowly walked around him, toward the squad. "And if any of your thugs want to mess with me, I'll have to kill you. So, is anyone gonna get in my way?" she asked. Nobody moved. "That's what I thought."

When she got to the squad, she motioned to Pignani, who tossed her a knife. Then she motioned to Pignani's thugs. One of them, about Elizabeth's height, stepped out and pointed his gun at Pignani. Pignani's jaw dropped.

Elizabeth put her pistol away and dropped to the ground. She cut the ropes around Reiben and Mellish, then Caparzo and Upham, then Jackson and Wade. She started cutting the ropes around Reiben's hands.

"Why's Pignani over here?" Reiben whispered.

"He's in a gang," she whispered back.

"What gang?" he asked. The ropes fell to the ground and Elizabeth stared him straight in the eyes.

"Same one I'm in," she said. Then she started cutting the ropes around Mellish's hands.

Reiben shook his head. Fletcher. No wonder that name sounded familiar. He should've known.

"Hey, Russell," Reiben said as he picked up his B.A.R. and the rest of the gear. The thug who was pointing his gun at Pignani turned to look at him.

"Reiben," he said, nodding his head once before turning back to Pignani.

The squad stared at Reiben and Russell. How did they know each other?

Elizabeth finished untying the rest of the squad, then untied Miller and Horvath. As Miller and Horvath pulled the rags out of their mouths, Elizabeth walked up to the jeep and stared at the box.

"I'm gonna need this, Pignani," she said. "Maybe you could carry it for me?"

In response, Pignani spat on the ground.

"Oooh," Elizabeth said. "That was cold. Guess I'm just gonna have to take your jeep, then. You know, with the beer and everything."

Pignani looked like he might explode.

Miller looked at Pignani and his thugs. There was no way he and his squad could take on all of them. Better to just take the jeep. Besides, the Allies wanted whatever was in the box.

He motioned to his squad and they jumped into the jeep, smiling at their new ride. Miller and Horvath got into the front. Miller started the car, then glanced back at Elizabeth, who was glaring angrily at him.

"What are you gonna do?" Pignani asked her. "The army only wants the box. Once they get it, they'll get rid of you. They don't need you. They'll just dump you on the side of the road somewhere. And when they do, you'll have us to answer to."

"Are you just gonna leave her here, sir?" Wade asked Captain Miller. He didn't answer. The squad turned to look at Elizabeth. They saw a dirty-faced girl in blood-soaked combat fatigues staring forlornly after the jeep.

Anger was always her first weapon. She had used it to get out of tight spots, to fight off attacks, and to trick her conscience. But now, as she stared at the jeep, Elizabeth knew her anger had finally run out. Now she was left with one feeling. Hopelessness. And she knew she'd never run out of that.

"She saved us," someone muttered. No one knew who said it, but it didn't really matter, because they were all thinking it.

"Get in the jeep," Miller called to Elizabeth in a defeated voice. A smile exploded across her face as she put her hand on the jeep, fully prepared to jump in. Then her smile faded. She turned back to stare at Russell.

"They'll kill him," she said to Miller. He sighed impatiently, then looked at Russell and jerked his head at the jeep. Russell smiled. He and Elizabeth simultaneously jumped into the back of the jeep. It was pretty cool, actually.

Miller started the jeep, and Reiben, Mellish, Caparzo, and Jackson kept their weapons trained on Pignani and his thugs. It wasn't until the mobsters were completely out of sight that Miller began asking questions. Reiben was about to complain about the lack of room in the jeep, but he bit his tongue. He wanted to know what was going on.

"Where do we go from here, Elizabeth?" Miller asked.

"Neuville-au-Plain," she said confidently.

"Captain?" Reiben asked.

"Reiben?"

"What's going on, sir?"

Miller pulled the jeep over, thinking that they were far enough away by now. He turned around and stared at his men. Should he tell them? He knew they would have to find out eventually.

"This isn't Elizabeth Hall," he started. "She's Elizabeth Fletcher. But no one was supposed to know that, because she's in the Five Points gang. Those men were part of the gang, too."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Reiben stared at Elizabeth. He knew about the Five Points gang, more than he cared to know. The Five Points was an area in New York where the streets Mosco, Baxter, and Worth met up, creating five corners, or points. The Five Points gang's place of operations was the Five Points, which is how they got their name.

"But, sir… what did they want with _us_?" Reiben asked.

Miller pointed to the box in the back.

"They knew we were after this box," he said. Everyone sent him confused looks.

"Look," he said. "Al Capone and James Ellison have been planning something. Nobody knows what it is, but it's something big. We think they're working with Germany. Intelligence found out Elizabeth was supposed to get this box and bring half of it to Ellison, and half of it to Capone. We're not sure what's in it, but our mission was to find Elizabeth and intercept the box."

The squad remembered the day they had found Elizabeth. While they sat around and smoked, Captain Miller had been interrogating Elizabeth.

"So Elizabeth's on our side?" Reiben asked.

Miller looked to Elizabeth for the answer.

"What if I'm not on your side?" she asked. "Then what happens?"

"If you're not on our side," Miller said. "We send you back to America."

"… And?"

"And you go to jail," he finished.

"What if I _am_ on your side?" she asked.

"You help us stop this. And then you go to jail."

Elizabeth chewed on her tongue. She shook her head. Then she sighed and looked at Miller again.

"Why would I want to be on your side?"

"… I don't know," he admitted. "… Because maybe you don't want to be a bad person."

She sighed again in annoyance.

"… They're waiting for me at Neuville-au-Plain. They'll tell me where Ellison is, but only if we get there before Pignani. If Pignani gets there first, they'll just shoot me."

"What's in the box?" Miller asked.

"I don't know, but it's locked," Elizabeth said. "They didn't tell me what they were planning. Only what I was supposed to do."

Then she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Miller. He glanced at it, then passed it to the soldier next to him. Each soldier looked at the paper, shrugged, then passed it to the next soldier. Reiben got it last.

He looked at it. It was dirty, crumpled, and bloody. Reiben could just make out three sentences of messy handwriting.

_Ten tickets to Heaven,_

_Ten tickets to Hell,_

_One ticket home._

Everyone looked at Reiben, hoping he could figure it out. He just shrugged.

"What the hell's this supposed to mean?" he asked Elizabeth.

"Think about it," she told him. Reiben didn't want to think about it.

_Ten tickets to Heaven. _How do you get a ticket to Heaven? That's when he figured it out.

"Twenty-one people are gonna die?" he asked.

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Ten tickets to Heaven. Then soldiers are gonna die. Ten tickets to Hell. Ten mobsters are gonna die. And one ticket home. That's for Capone. Ellison's not comin' back."

"Who's killing these people?" Miller asked. Elizabeth shrugged.

"Russell was supposed to kill one soldier. I don't know who's killing the rest."

Miller eyed Russell suspiciously. Elizabeth just rolled her eyes.

"Russell won't let me kill spiders, he'd never kill a _person_," she said. "Besides, he barely knows how to hold a gun. The only reason he got the job in the first place is because _I'm_ his cousin."

"So, Russell," Miller said. "Whose side are you on?"

Russell hesitated.

"I'm on Elizabeth's side," he said.

"Good," Miller said. "Then you'll both help us?"

Elizabeth and Russell nodded.

"So, Neuville-au-Plain, huh?"

Elizabeth and Russell nodded again.

"How long do you think it'll take Pignani to get there?"

Elizabeth shrugged.

"A day, maybe," she guessed.

Miller nodded, switched seats with Horvath, and took out the map. In moments, they were driving again.

"So how did Reiben know who Russell was?" Mellish asked.

"'Cause we lived down the street from Reiben," Russell answered.

Elizabeth stared at Reiben in shock.

"You're that lingerie guy?" she asked in surprise.

Reiben looked at Russell and Elizabeth. He hadn't recognized her alone, because he didn't know Elizabeth. He'd only known her as 'that Fletcher kid.' So of course he didn't recognize her when she said her name was Elizabeth Hall. But Russell had fixed his car a few times.

"Yeah," Reiben said. "And you're those mouthy mechanics."

Elizabeth smiled. Back at home, she and Russell had to work as car mechanics in a garage behind a popular diner in Brooklyn. While all the other kids were eating and having fun in the diner, Elizabeth, Russell, and a few other kids from their bad neighborhood were stuck in the sweaty garage all day. Elizabeth would never have gotten the job, being a girl and all, if it wasn't for her mom's boyfriend, Kirk. _Everyone_ knew Kirk was pretty high up in the Five Points gang.

Russell was more of a 'people-person' than Elizabeth. He knew a lot about cars, but he usually only handled the money and the problems under the hood. Everyone knew Russell. They thought he was a sweet kid, they never suspected he was in a gang. Elizabeth was the one who went _underneath_ the cars to fix things. She was always the dirtiest, and no one ever really saw her. But they heard her voice, swearing and complaining about the condition or age of the car. Her favorite customers were high school boys. She would mouth off and insult their car until they started a fight. She loved fights. Usually some kids from the diner would come out and watch. Elizabeth only won about half the time, but that was a pretty good record considering she was up against senior football players in a lot of the fights. She didn't win because of physical strength, though. She played dirty.

"Mouthy mechanics?" Mellish asked.

"Yeah," Reiben said. "You couldn't get your car fixed without being insulted." Then he remembered something. "Hey, you're that kid I beat up last year, aren't you?"

A look of realization passed over Elizabeth's face.

"That was _you_?" she asked. "And you didn't beat me up, _I _beat _you_ up."

Now it was all coming back to Reiben.

"What are you talking about?" Mellish asked.

"Last year, Reiben brought his car in for a repair," Elizabeth began. "Worst car I've ever seen…"

"_This car's a piece of junk," Elizabeth said from under Reiben's car. Russell kicked her foot. _

"What_?" Elizabeth asked, annoyed. Russell kneeled down next to the car._

"_He's still here," he whispered, meaning that Reiben was standing next to him. _

"_Oh, really?" Elizabeth said. She got out from under the car and glared at Reiben. "I can't fix this shit. It's a thousand years old, and there is _no_ way it's gonna start again." _

"_Maybe it's just 'cause you're a girl," Reiben said._

"_What?" Elizabeth asked, getting angry._

"_I'm just sayin', Russell fixes it all the time," Reiben said with a shrug. "So maybe it's just you."_

_Two tall, muscular guys were standing behind Reiben. _

"_Are you gonna fix the car, or what?" one of them asked. Elizabeth realized that they were Reiben's friends._

"_I don't know, your big head's blocking my light," she said. _

"_What'd you just say to me?" he asked angrily._

"_I said, you're _big. Fat. Head._ Is blocking my light."_

"_Elizabeth!" Russell said, running over. "She didn't mean that, I swear."_

"_What are you talking about, Russell?" Elizabeth asked. "You see the size of that head? How could I _not_ mean it?"_

_The man went to punch Elizabeth, but she ducked and ran the other way. She ran over and turned off the lights. Through the darkness, Reiben could hear a crash and a groan. Then another. That meant he was next. He jumped in his car and locked the doors. Through the darkness, something glistened in his rearview mirror. He looked up. A pair of eyes looked back at him. Only, they weren't his._

_He shouted and opened the door. Or, he would've if he hadn't locked it. He fumbled with the lock before finally opening the door and jumping out, only to have someone jump off the top of the car and onto his back. Whoever it was covered his eyes with their hands, hiding the light from the exit to the diner. Now he was trapped. _

_He threw the kid to the ground and ran for the diner, but at the last minute, someone reached out from under his car and grabbed his ankle. He tripped and fell on someone. Then, a can of gasoline fell out of nowhere..._

Reiben couldn't remember the rest of the fight, except that by the end he, Elizabeth, and Russell were all covered in gasoline. And he never did get his car fixed.

Elizabeth smiled as she remembered the fight.

She would never forget it because it was the largest fight she ever got in at the mechanic's. She could never remember exactly who she had been fighting with, but now, looking at Reiben, she knew it was him. She had never seen Reiben much before the fight, because she was always under the car, and she rarely saw him after the fight. So she hadn't recognized Reiben before.

"You owe me a free car repair," Reiben said.

"Soon as I get out of jail," Elizabeth promised.

Just then, the car stopped in front of a wide river, overflowing from the rain.

"We're going to have to cross it," Miller said. "Or we'll never get there before Pignani."

Everyone jumped out of the jeep and stood at the water's edge. It was wide, overflowing, and fast. As the squad looked around, they saw two canoes by the water.

"That's probably what I was supposed to use to get across," Elizabeth said. There was enough room for her and Pignani's thugs in the two canoes. Pignani's thugs were supposed to come with her as backup. That meant there was enough room for her and the squad.

Ellison had said he'd mapped out the whole area, and that all obstacles had been removed. Of course, he hadn't been counting on a squad of U.S. Rangers.

"You think it's safe?" Miller asked.

"I don't know," Elizabeth said. "It looks too… placed. I mean, wouldn't they have at least hidden the canoes somewhere?"

"Think we should go across anyway?" Miller asked her.

She shrugged.

"Why not?" she said.

Reiben looked at her like she was crazy. Someone _had_ to have tampered with those canoes. Otherwise, this whole thing would be too easy. Elizabeth knew that. So why was she doing this?

"Reiben, Elizabeth," Miller called. "Bring the box over here."

Reiben grabbed one side of the box and Elizabeth grabbed the other. As they lifted the box out, Elizabeth suddenly spoke.

"Hey, Reiben?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah?"

"… Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"… Maybe you're a bad person," he said slowly. "... Or maybe you're just a brave thief."


	18. Stolen by the Current

**This chapter's kinda short, but the next one should have more action in it. This one doesn't talk about the gang that much, but the next chapter will have the answer to the big mystery- what is the gang planning and what's inside the box?**

A brave thief. The brave thief. _The Brave Thief_. Elizabeth smiled as she and Reiben put the box in one of the canoes. She liked that name.

"I'll take the first canoe with Jackson, Wade, Elizabeth, and Upham," Miller said. "Horvath, Russell, Caparzo, Mellish, and Reiben will take the second canoe."

Reiben didn't like the idea of riding in a different canoe than Elizabeth. He didn't know why. He tried to tell himself that he really didn't care, but he couldn't shake the feeling that if something happened, he didn't know if he'd be able to help her.

As the squad stepped toward the canoes, two boys carrying guns came out from behind a cluster of trees next to the river.

Everyone raised their weapons, alarming the two boys, who took cover behind the trees again.

Elizabeth and Russell both turned towards the trees, slamming their heads together in the process.

They shouted in surprise, then Elizabeth shoved Russell. Hard. Hard enough to require retaliation. Russell shoved Elizabeth back. Harder.

As Russell and Elizabeth pushed each other, the two boys peeked out from behind the trees.

"Fletcher?" one called out.

In response, Elizabeth shoved Russell to the ground. Russell grabbed her foot and took her down, too. They started punching each other, preventing the other from getting up.

"Fletcher?" the boy called out again.

Reiben and Jackson pulled Elizabeth and Russell off of each other.

"_Fletcher_!" the boy yelled, getting agitated.

"_What_?" Elizabeth shouted back, equally annoyed, trying to free herself from Jackson's grip so she could continue her fight with Russell.

The boys came out from behind the trees, still holding their guns.

"You got the box?" one asked. Elizabeth nodded, momentarily forgetting her fight with Russell. The two boys glanced at each other, then turned back to the water.

As the two boys got in the canoes, Miller turned to give Elizabeth a questioning glance.

"They work for Ellison, too," she explained. "They're here to make sure the box gets to the other side."

Miller looked at the boys. They couldn't have been older than twelve. Elizabeth stared for a minute, wondering why they had gotten the job of protecting the canoes. Reiben watched her squint and tilt her head slightly to the side.

"Are you sure they're going to help us?" Miller asked Elizabeth quietly.

"As long as we got here before Pignani," she said distractedly, still trying to figure out why the boys were so young.

"And what if he got here first?"

Elizabeth suddenly looked at the water, as if this idea had never occurred to her. She glanced at the canoe, her eyes hovering on the suspicious boys, then back at the water. She shook her head, taking a step back.

"I'm not gettin' in that canoe," she said.

"_What_?" Miller asked, annoyed. They had gotten too far to stop now.

"I can't…" she said, her voice trailing off.

"Can't what?" Miller asked.

"…Nothing," she said. Russell glanced at Elizabeth. He knew exactly what was going on.

"She can't-" Elizabeth jabbed her elbow into Russell's stomach. He glared at her angrily as she nervously took another step back.

"I can't get in that canoe," she said.

"Why not?" Miller asked, exasperated.

She shrugged, looking at the ground.

"We can't go without you," Miller said. "We need you to find out where Ellison is, and we need to get there before Pignani."

Elizabeth stared at the water.

"_Please_ get in the canoe," Miller said through clenched teeth.

"I _can't_," she said stubbornly. Miller stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what to do.

"… Get her in the canoe," Miller said to the squad, frustrated. He took out his map and he and Horvath walked off to the side, trying to decide whether or not they could beat Pignani to Neuville.

"Why can't you get in the canoe?" Wade asked gently.

"I just can't," she said mumbled.

"Look, I don't understand what's going on, so why don't you explain it to me?" Reiben asked, annoyed. Elizabeth sighed.

"A group of mobsters are waiting for me in Neuville, and I'm supposed to go bring this box to them," she explained. "They're supposed to tell me where Ellison is, and I'm supposed to go bring the box to Ellison. If we get there before Pignani, they'll tell me where Ellison is, and maybe what they're planning. But if Pignani gets there first, they'll just shoot me."

"Then why won't you get in the canoe?" Reiben asked exasperated.

Elizabeth sighed, then stepped toward Reiben. She muttered something under her breath.

"What?" Reiben asked. She muttered it again. Reiben smiled.

"Seriously?" he asked. Elizabeth glared at him.

"_Yes_, I'm serious."

Reiben laughed.

"You've gotta be joking," he said.

"I'm _serious_," she said. "I knew you'd laugh."

"No, Elizabeth, it's fine. We're gonna be in a canoe."

"But what if something happens?"

"Nothing'll happen," Reiben said dismissively. Then he took a good look at her face. She looked like she might cry.

"Look," he said. "You'll be fine, okay? I'll be right there. I promise. Now will you get in the canoe?"

Elizabeth nodded reluctantly.

"Good," Reiben said, smiling again. The rest of the squad watched curiously as Elizabeth smiled back at Reiben. What had she said?

A few minutes later, one of the strange boys, Jackson, Wade, Elizabeth, Upham, and Miller got in the canoe that held the box and slid it into the water. The other boy, Horvath, Caparzo, Mellish, Russell and Reiben followed in the second canoe. They steered the canoes towards the other side of the river. Once they had gotten halfway across the river, Elizabeth suddenly froze.

"There's water in my boots," she said. Jackson gave her a questioning look.

"No, there's _water_ in my boots," she said again. Jackson glanced at the bottom of the boat.

A hole.

"Captain Miller," he said urgently. Captain Miller turned, saw the hole, and looked back at the other canoe, which was filling with water fast.

"Use your helmets," Miller ordered. The men in both canoes quickly followed orders, shoveling water out with their helmets instead of paying attention to the swift current.

Suddenly, the two twelve-year-old boys signaled to each other. Elizabeth instinctively threw her helmet back on her head.

Both boys started rocking the canoes back and forth. Miller was the first to understand what was going on.

"You'll throw yourselves in, too," he warned the boy in his canoe. The boy didn't answer.

"We just want to get across safely."

Still no answer.

"We can help you, if you'll just bring this canoe to the other side."

The boy remained silent as he rocked the canoe harder. Miller grabbed the boy's arm.

"You'll kill yourself, too," he whispered.

Finally, the boy looked up at Miller. He had the clearest blue eyes the captain had ever seen.

"I have to kill you, or he'll kill me," the boy whispered hoarsely.

And with that, he tipped the canoe upside down.

Reiben stared in disbelief as the other canoe flipped. He watched, frozen in horror, while five helmets floated to the surface of the water. No bodies followed.

And then he felt the icy sting of the river as his canoe flipped.

His helmet floated off his head as he frantically swam for the surface, even as he felt himself sinking. He stopped swimming, and instead tore at the straps around his shoulders, desperately trying to free himself from his pack. Finally, he broke free. It struck him how quiet and peaceful it seemed under the water, even as he was sinking to his death.

As his fingers sliced through the water, he realized that this was the first time he had been in the water since he had dragged himself up that damn beach. And, like, last time, his B.A.R. was drowning him. He stopped struggling for the briefest of moments, and instead looked at his beloved B.A.R. His replacement for the one he'd abandoned in the ocean, he thought it was lucky. It had gotten up the beach, hadn't it? As he felt it slip out of his fingers, he tilted his head to the surface, thinking it would be much easier to get there now. But at the last minute, he grabbed the B.A.R out of the water where it was slowly sinking and dragged it upward with him. Somehow, he managed to make it to the top with his beloved weapon. Finally, he made it to the surface, clawing with his one hand, trying to stay up, while the other hand clung to his B.A.R.

The noise hit him instantly, and it was almost enough to send him back under willingly. Shouts filled the air as more heads came up, but what Reiben was most aware of was the roaring of the river surrounding him.

The current carried him swiftly down the river, and before he could even register what was happening, he felt his head slam against something hard. He turned around and saw a rock protruding out of the water. He grabbed at it but his hand slipped right off and the current tugged him away.

As he passed by a large branch, he lunged at it. He clung to it with one hand as the current tried to pull him under. His other hand was glued to his B.A.R. He felt a body slam into him and turned to see who it was.

"Mellish!" he shouted. Mellish spun around and grabbed the branch. Reiben frantically began searching for everyone else.

He could see the boy who had tipped Miller's canoe dragging himself onto the shore.

He saw Caparzo and Jackson come out of nowhere and grab onto the branch with him and Mellish.

And he saw a hand reach out of the water, grabbing at the wind. As the hand disappeared, stolen by the current, the words Elizabeth had muttered to Reiben earlier suddenly echoed through his head.

_I can't swim._


	19. Wie Gehts, Jerry?

**Two months since I updated- sorry about that! The next update should definitely not take as long! In this chapter, as promised, the box will be opened and the mystery revealed...**

As the water enveloped her, Elizabeth was reminded of an assignment she and Russell had been on a few weeks before they left for France.

They had to sneak through a sewer, which had sounded fun to Elizabeth. But it was so dark that they lost each other within minutes.

You see, in a sewer, you have to light your own way. And she'd never been very good at that.

Not a big deal, at first. A few rats scampered by, and Elizabeth stomped her feet in annoyance, and then she realized that Russell had the map.

"Russell?" she whispered. "Russell?"

No answer.

She shrugged it off. Why was she getting so worried? She wasn't afraid of the dark. But then she heard a clicking noise. It was probably nothing, but her over imaginative mind had interpreted it as a pistol being loaded.

She shoved herself against the wall, but it was closer than she thought it was and she cried out when her shoulder slammed into it.

She threw herself to the floor. What if someone heard that? Suddenly she felt like the darkness was closing in on her. She couldn't breath. The silence pounded her ears until she felt for sure that she would never hear anything again.

"Russell!" she shouted. "Russell!"

"What?" he asked. She flipped her head around and thrust her hand out, slamming it right into his head. He had been next to her the whole time.

The reason she remembered this was because she felt the same way now as she had in the sewer. Like she was being swallowed whole. Except this time it wasn't by darkness, it was by water.

Reiben glanced around. Was anyone going to save her? Because _he_ wasn't.

Should he? _No_, he told himself. He doesn't rely on anyone, so no one should rely on him.

He saw her hand reach up again, trying to grab something, but nothing was there. It was pathetic, really… but it wasn't his problem.

And then he remembered. No one was going to save Elizabeth. No one knew she couldn't swim. No one except Reiben.

_I'll be right there, I promise._

Why did he have to say that?

"I'll be right there, I promise," he said in a mocking tone. "Why am I such an idiot?"

"What?" Jackson yelled over the current.

"She can't swim!" Reiben yelled, suddenly seeing a window. If Jackson saved her, he wouldn't have to.

No matter what he told himself, Elizabeth was starting to grow on him. But that didn't mean he wanted to risk his life for her.

_Just because I'm talking _about_ you, doesn't mean I'm talking _to _you._

Reiben pushed the memory away.

_We'll probably all die trying to save her. It just seems like a pointless mission to me. I mean if she's gonna die, she's gonna die. Why take us along with her?_

Reiben frowned as he remembered this. Had he really said that?

"_Why are you doing this to her?" Reiben asked Jackson and Wade so quietly, they weren't sure they had heard him correctly._

"_Doing what?" Wade asked._

"_Hurting her," Reiben whispered. "When you die, what's going to happen to her? That's why I don't care. 'Cause it'll hurt."_

"_Are you worried about hurting Elizabeth, Reiben? Or are you worried about hurting yourself?" Wade whispered back. Reiben just stared._

"_Myself," Reiben said forcefully, trying to hide the weakness he had just shown. But Jackson and Wade both knew that wasn't the answer Reiben wanted to give._

"_You're lying to yourself, Reiben," Jackson said quietly. Reiben stared at Jackson with an expression that told Jackson he had been right._

"_Both of us," Reiben said hoarsely. "I guess I'm worried about hurting both of us."_

As Reiben drifted back to the present, he could see Jackson searching the water for Elizabeth.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"…I don't know," Reiben said. Then he shoved his B.A.R. at Mellish. "Hold this!" he shouted.

He hesitated. Was he really gonna do this? He saw his mother's face as she read a letter.

_Dear Mrs. Reiben, we regret to inform you that your son, Richard Reiben…_

Reiben shook his head as the words danced across his mind. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

And then he remembered something else.

"_You're both hurting already," Wade said quietly. "If she doesn't have anyone in this whole war to hold on to, _then _what's gonna happen to her?"_

But what if it was Reiben who needed someone to hold onto?

He dove under the water. When he came back up, he realized that he'd never be able to swim against the current. He was strong, but not that strong.

And so he waited.

How many seconds had it been? 5, 10, 20? How long could someone hold their breath?

Too many seconds had passed. Was it possible? Could she hold out for just another minute?

What was he even waiting for?

He glanced at the water. The current was moving towards him, so shouldn't _she_ be moving towards him?

Suddenly, her head bobbed above the water and she gasped, but in a second she was back under.

Damn it, she had already passed him. With an angry sigh he stopped struggling and let the current take him.

When he got close enough, he reached out his hand. Elizabeth grabbed it and he pulled her closer to him. She grabbed at him, trying to keep herself above the water, and Reiben suddenly realized how this would end.

If she kept grabbing at him, they would both drown.

Reiben pretended not to see the hurt in her eyes as he pushed her away. He had to let her go.

"Reiben," she whimpered, as the current dragged her away.

In that instant, Reiben felt like time had frozen. But instead of seeing Elizabeth reaching for him, he saw a ten-year-old boy named Richard throwing his hand out towards his older brother. The one who was supposed to protect him. He watched as his older brother scoffed and walked away.

"I can't swim!" Richard shouted.

Reiben snapped back to reality and saw Elizabeth drifting away from him. He knew what that felt like.

Reiben impulsively reached for Elizabeth, but it was too late. She was too far away. Reiben clung to another branch as Elizabeth floated away. There was no way he could save her now.

Miller flinched as something slammed into his back. When he turned around, he saw the boy from the other canoe flailing his arms around, reaching for Miller.

Miller reached for the twelve year old, but the current had carried him too far away. Miller swam after him, and watched as the other boy, the one who had tipped his canoe, the boy with those clear blue eyes, ran along the shore, desperately trying to reach the boy in the water.

The blue-eyed boy threw his arm out and grabbed the other boy. But he wasn't strong enough, and they both fell back into the water.

Miller threw his arms out, and for an instant, held both boys' hands. In that moment the boy from Miller's canoe looked at Miller, and Miller saw fear in those clear blue eye. But Miller could also see that the boy wasn't afraid for himself, he was afraid for the other boy.

And that's how Miller knew they were brothers.

The older one, the blue-eyed boy, slipped from Miller's fingers. Miller grabbed onto a branch and pulled the younger boy closer to him.

The blue-eyed boy floated away, looking almost calm, knowing that his little brother was saved.

Jackson blinked as something flitted across the trees by the river's edge. Had he just imagined that black blur?

He couldn't see Reiben anymore, and he tried to keep himself from thinking about what had probably happened to him and Elizabeth.

Suddenly, a black glove reached for the branch Jackson was clinging to. Jackson turned his head to see who it was and slammed into a body.

Russell.

Russell grabbed the branch as Jackson stared at him. He still didn't know what to make of this kid.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Russell shouted over the water.

Jackson jerked his head in the direction Reiben had gone in. Russell's face fell.

Caparzo and Mellish were moving along the branch, closer to the shore. Jackson started moving, pulling Russell after him. Russell was struggling to stay in the water, not willing to leave without Elizabeth. When they finally made it to the shore, Caparzo, Mellish, and Jackson had to hold Russell back to keep him from running down the river to find Elizabeth. They didn't want him to find a dead body instead.

Jackson tried to reassure himself as he fought Russell. Elizabeth and Reiben were probably fine. But as Russell calmed down, he couldn't help wondering how long it had been since Reiben left. How long would it have taken him?

Just then, Jackson saw a flicker of movement by the edge of the water.

In an instant, Rebel came bursting out of the trees with a speed Jackson had never seen before. The dog tore across the dirt, flying downstream in search of something Jackson couldn't see. Jackson felt sick as he thought of what Rebel might find downstream.

Two bodies floating in the river.

The second he hit the water, Wade threw his eyes open. He thrashed around in the water, avoiding the bullets tearing through the river and the dead bodies floating around him. He screamed, but of course, no one could hear him under the water. His helmet floated off his head, and he tore at his pack, trying to get if off. The water was closing in on him, his lungs felt like they would explode, the blood was surrounding him, he couldn't escape…

And then someone kicked him.

He closed his eyes in pain, then slowly opened them again. The bodies were gone, the bullets were gone, and the river was blue again, not red.

He managed to throw his pack off and swim to the surface.

"Elizabeth!" he shouted. She was the one who had kicked him. She spun around in the water, struggling to keep her head above the river.

"Wade!" she shouted. She knew Wade would save her.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. She gripped his field jacket like her life depended on it. At that moment, for the first time in a long time, she felt completely safe.

"Please don't leave me," she whimpered. "I can't swim."

"I'd never leave you," Wade said as he frantically searched for something to grab on to. They were going down the river too fast, there was no way he'd be able to swim them both back to the shore. They were both going to drown.

"Rebel!" Elizabeth suddenly shouted. Reiben turned just in time to see the big black dog throw himself into the river. Rebel charged toward Elizabeth and Wade through the water.

Reiben dragged himself onto the shore as Rebel closed in on Elizabeth.

She threw her arm around the dog. Rebel turned and gave Wade a single goodbye lick on the face. Wade watched in dismay as the dog turned around and paddled back to the shore with Elizabeth.

This was it. He had been fighting the current too long, there was no way he'd have enough energy to swim all the way over to the shore. He felt defeated as the current dragged him along.

He watched as Reiben helped Elizabeth onto the shore. Wade had trusted her, he had saved her, and now she was just going to let him die.

How had this happened? Had he really made it all the way up the beach, just to drown in a river?

And that's when he saw it. Elizabeth was now kneeling next to Rebel, with one hand on his back. She said something to the dog, then pointed to Wade. She took her hand off Rebel's back as she stood up. And then, watching from the shore, Reiben heard her say the three words that would haunt him for the rest of eternity.

"Save him, Rebel."

With that, Rebel's paws struck the ground like lightning, and he launched himself into the water, coming at Wade like a speeding bullet.

Wade smiled as Rebel stopped directly in front of him. He threw his arm across the dog and they swam back together.

As Reiben helped Wade onto the shore, he saw a head come out of the water briefly, then sink back down. He reached under and found a hand. Somehow, he and Wade managed to drag the boy out of the water and onto the dirt.

Blood streaked the boy's clothes.

"Is he dead?" Elizabeth asked in a strange voice.

Reiben hesitated, then nodded. The boy wasn't breathing.

Wade stared grimly at the boy as he kneeled down to check his pulse. He looked at the blood seeping out of the boy's multiple wounds, probably from hitting sharp rocks as the current dragged him along at a dangerous speed. Then Wade looked at the boy's face.

This boy had the clearest blue eyes, and he couldn't have been older than twelve, yet he wore black gloves and a trench coat.

He died right in front of them.

He was just lying there, looking like he had earlier that day, and then in an instant, everything that made him _him_… left his face. And Elizabeth couldn't shake the feeling that she had just seen his soul leave his body. Because as she watched, his eyes went from that stunningly clear blue, to a cloudy gray, the kind that envelopes the sky right before a storm.

Elizabeth's head suddenly snapped up.

"Where's Russell?" she asked urgently. Nobody answered her. Wade and Reiben hadn't seen him.

"Where is he?" she whimpered.

She stepped towards the river, but Reiben gently pulled her back. She turned and looked up at him, and for the first time Reiben realized that she was about six or seven inches shorter than him.

"Where's the box?" she asked suddenly, urgently.

Reiben heard a twig snap and turned to find Jackson, Caparzo, Mellish, and Russell standing behind him.

"Did anyone see Captain Miller?" Mellish asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"What do we do?" Caparzo asked.

"Get our stuff out of the water," Mellish said.

Suddenly, Elizabeth started running down the river. Russell immediately took after her. He wasn't going to be left behind again.

The squad watched as the two charged across the dirt. They were fast. Unbelievably fast. The squad exchanged glances before following them down the river.

Elizabeth and Russell stopped when they came to a branch. As the squad got closer, they could see the metal box had gotten caught on it. As Elizabeth and Russell pulled the box out of the water, the others grabbed any stray pack or helmet they found floating in the water. When they were done, they had three packs and six helmets. Reiben, Jackson, Mellish, Caparzo, and Wade each put on a helmet.

Elizabeth pulled a pistol out of her field jacket. She dragged the box to the edge of the river and backed up until she was next to a tree. The others followed her, unsure of what she was doing.

"It's probably full of explosives," she said simply. Reiben frowned. If there really were a lot of explosives in there, they'd all be blown sky-high even from this distance.

Elizabeth's first shot hit the top of the box. Everyone flinched, waiting for the explosion. Elizabeth shot again, hitting the side of the box. She swore under her breath.

"Use your B.A.R.," she said to Reiben.

He mumbled something, then picked it up from the spot Mellish had tossed it to.

He aimed, then let out a short blast of bullets. A couple hit the lock, and the squad flinched again. But nothing exploded.

Elizabeth sauntered over and threw the lid off the box. Her face fell.

"…What's in the box?" Mellish called from where he was standing with the rest of the squad, a safe distance away, next to the trees.

"_PAPER!_" Elizabeth shouted angrily. "Just a bunch of _paper_! How is this supposed to help me?"

Russell came over and picked up the top paper. He read it quickly, frowning. His brow furrowed as he read it again.

Elizabeth stood up and glanced over Russell's shoulder.

"Why is my name on that?" she asked suspiciously.

"It just says Fletcher," Russell said. "That could be either one of us."

Elizabeth rifled through some of the other papers, frowning just like Russell. Then she pulled out one paper and her jaw dropped. She glanced over at Reiben, realization crossing her face.

"What?" he asked suspiciously. Elizabeth didn't answer, just kept staring from Reiben, to the paper, and back to Reiben.

"_What_?" he asked again. He started towards her, reaching for the paper.

"Reiben," she said nervously. "Before you read this… there's probably something you should know…"

As Reiben got closer, Elizabeth tried to stuff the paper back in the box, but Reiben grabbed it before she could.

He read it. Frowned. Read it again.

"Why is my name on this?" he asked finally.

"It's not _your_ name," Elizabeth said slowly.

"It says Reiben."

"It's talking about… a different Reiben."

"_What?_"

"…It's all his fault," Elizabeth said accusingly, pointing her finger at Reiben.

"_WHAT?_" Reiben shouted.

"His name is on that paper!" Elizabeth shouted back. "He's working with them!"

"You just said it meant a different Reiben!"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.

"I see how you're trying to turn this around. You're trying to say _I_ did it!"

Reiben stared at Elizabeth, utterly confused.

"You _did_!" he shouted.

"Well, _you_ left me to die in the river!" Elizabeth shouted back. Reiben froze.

Then Elizabeth dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. She tried to hold back the tears, but it hurt knowing that Reiben didn't care enough to rescue her from drowning.

Reiben looked away. It wasn't the first time he'd made a girl cry.

But it was the first time it hurt him to do it.

"It was Ralph," she said, still sobbing. "It was all Ralph."

Reiben clenched his jaw.

"Ralph's gone," he said shakily. "And he's not coming back."

Elizabeth looked up at Reiben sadly.

"He planned the whole thing," she said, her voice cracking. "This was all his idea."

Reiben grabbed Elizabeth's hand and pulled her up in front of him.

"What did you say?" he asked quietly. Elizabeth wasn't scared, though. She just looked sad.

"He's here, Reiben," she whispered. "Ralph's waiting."

Reiben shoved Elizabeth away.

"You tricked us!" he shouted.

"I tricked you _before_," Elizabeth said. "I was supposed to take you to Pignani, and he was supposed to take you to Ralph. So I made sure you followed me over the wall so they could tie you up. But I came _back_. I _saved_ you."

"You're lying," Reiben hissed.

"No, I'm not," Elizabeth said through her tears. "Reiben… Ralph's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me because I helped you."

"What does he want with us?" Reiben asked quietly.

"I don't know," Elizabeth said. "…I don't know."

"Who the hell is Ralph?" Mellish asked.

"Reiben's older brother," Russell said slowly. "He works with Capone."

"What did he plan?" Caparzo asked.

"Everything," Russell said. "Italy asked Capone to come over here and Ralph planned it all."

"_What?_" Elizabeth said.

"Look at these papers," Russell said. "They've got one for every member of the gang. We have to sign them. Sign our allegiance to Italy. What do you think that's for?"

"…War," Elizabeth muttered, wiping away her tears.

"What's going on?" Wade asked quietly.

"The Italian mafia," Russell said. "The _Italian_ mafia. Italy was defeated, right? But what if they had a backup plan the whole time? An inside job?"

Elizabeth glared at Caparzo.

"What?" he asked.

"Bet you already knew that, _Caparzo_."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. _Niente_, right?"

Niente, niente. Reiben racked his brain to think of what that meant. Then he remembered. Niente meant nothing in Italian.

"Caparzo's on our side," Mellish said.

"He's from _Chicago_. How would you know he's not in a gang?"

"_You're _the one who's in the Italian mafia!" Mellish shouted.

"I'm not even Italian!" Elizabeth shouted back.

Suddenly everyone was shouting at each other.

"How can you be in the Italian mafia without being Italian?"

"So you're tricking the Americans _and _the Italians?"

"What would you know about gangs, country boy?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"And _you_! You're from _California_! What do you do, _surf_? How would you know about the mafia?"

"This is exactly what they're trying to do!" Russell shouted over everyone else. "They hired Capone to sabotage the American army. And it's working. They're turning you against each other!"

Everyone looked at each other guiltily.

"Italy's paying Capone to fight for them. That's why those boys in the canoe were only twelve. The older gang members are getting ready to fight for Italy. They tricked us, Elizabeth. They're paying us to sabotage our own army."

"… But we tricked them," Elizabeth said. "We're Irish."

Reiben slowly smiled.

"You're Irish?"

Elizabeth nodded, an identical smile on her face.

"Then they don't stand a chance," Reiben said softly.

"What?" Mellish asked.

Charlotte Fletcher. Goes by Charlie. Elizabeth's mom. Irish. Randall Allen. Elizabeth's father. Navajo.

Ellen Fletcher. Russell's mom. Irish. Anthony Ben. Russell's father. Navajo.

If you bothered to look, you could see that Elizabeth had her father's face. She looked Navajo, but she was pale, with blonde hair like her mom. Same with Russell. Of course, Elizabeth's older sister, Colby, looked like their father. She had darker skin, and long brown hair. And she was beautiful. Elizabeth didn't have that kind of beauty, she was the tough one. Which is why she and Russell got punched around for being Navajo instead of Colby.

The nicknames- Chief, Cherokee, the Irish Indian, Squaw. The jokes- fire water, peace pipe, rituals, spirit names. The fistfights- "I'll give _you_ a peace pipe!" They took it all.

In New York, it's all about where you're from. If you're from Italy, you're automatically enemies with the Irish kids. Of course, that changes when you get into gang dynamics, in which case the Irish mob and Italian mafia tend to help each other out, although even then, it's only for self-gain.

The Cherokees in New York, they were at the bottom of the totem pole, if you will. They got picked on for being Cherokee, and even Elizabeth made fun of them. She didn't make fun of them for being Cherokee, though, she made fun of them for not being Navajo. She was the classic bully, picking on the Cherokee kids to make her feel better about being Navajo. Of course, it didn't work. Because Elizabeth wasn't being picked on for being Navajo, she was being picked on for being _half_ Navajo. Because the Irish kids and the Navajo kids fought, neither of them wanted Elizabeth on their side. She was half enemy to both of them. She was the Irish Indian.

Of course, this wasn't unusual. The half Irish, half Italian kids had it worse. But to Elizabeth, it was just another thing she'd be beaten up for.

"Elizabeth," Russell said, holding up three pieces of paper. "There are three Fletcher's here."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked slowly.

"One for you, one for me, and then an extra one."

Elizabeth frowned, thinking. Then she slapped her hand on her forehead.

"They have Todd," she said angrily.

Todd Fletcher. Elizabeth and Russell's cousin, the bad boy of New York. He was lucky, though. He looked exactly like his dad, full Navajo. He was half Irish, sure, but you'd never know unless he told you. He got beat up for being Navajo, but never for being an Irish Indian. He was also the only one in their family who could speak Navajo. That's because his dad taught him. Elizabeth and Russell had always looked up to Todd. Todd was twenty-three, smoked, got drunk, and was always completely wild. He was also the one who taught Elizabeth and Russell about cars. Thing is, Elizabeth's dad left when she was younger, just got up one day and left. Russell's dad died around the same time. So they never learned Navajo. Then, about five years ago, Russell's mom got caught in the middle of a gang fight. Got hit by a bullet, died right there on the sidewalk. Russell and his younger brother, Alfred, had to go live with their aunt, Elizabeth's mom. That's when Elizabeth and Russell really started causing trouble.

That's also about the time Charlie, Elizabeth's mom, started dating Flint, a real important guy in the Five Points gang. He was the one who got Elizabeth and Russell into the Five Points gang, not because they were Italian, but because they were Charlie's kids.

Elizabeth and Russell explained all this, then they explained how their cousin Todd fit into all of it.

Todd was in the Marines. A Navajo code talker. Of course, Russell and Elizabeth didn't know that he was a code talker, top-secret was how Todd had described it, but they knew it had to do with secret messages. Thing about Todd was, he didn't particularly care about Elizabeth and Russell. With Russell, he enjoyed having Elizabeth follow him around like a puppy, always looking up to him. Todd simply tolerated it. Elizabeth always looked up to Russell, no matter what. He was the leader. Not to say that Elizabeth wasn't important. You see, Russell was the mastermind behind every plan. But Elizabeth was the one who was daring enough to execute Russell's plans. You couldn't have one without the other, but Elizabeth was clearly the one who followed Russell, not the other way around.

Todd put up with it when Elizabeth and Russell hovered around him, but he didn't _enjoy_ it. He just didn't care. But if they were going to try and sabotage Capone's plan, a code talker might come in handy.

"If they have a paper for Todd," Russell says. "Then that means they took him. They must be using him to intercept messages."

"…Which means they knew all along we were looking for them," Elizabeth said. "And Ralph probably knows where we are right now."

"So… how do we stop Ralph?" Mellish asked.

"It just so happens that Capone is paying the Irish mob to help him sabotage the American army," Elizabeth said. "Only, he didn't tell the Irish mob that they're sabotaging you. And I don't think that'll sit too well with them when we do tell them."

"The Irish mob doesn't want to fight for Italy," Reiben said. "So we tell them Capone tricked them, and they'll help us get rid of him."

"We just gotta find them first," Russell said.

"They'll be waiting in Neuville," Elizabeth said. "Which is where Pignani's going."

"Then where does your brother fit into all of this?" Mellish asked Reiben.

"… He's also important in the Five Points gang," Reiben said slowly. "When my mom found out, he just left. I haven't seen him since."

"He's gonna kill me," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Everyone in the Italian mafia's gonna want to kill you. Why are you worried about Ralph?"

"Ralph doesn't just kill you," Elizabeth said grimly. "…He likes to play with you first."

"Play?" Reiben asked.

"He doesn't use a gun. He prefers a knife. Slices you up and lets you bleed out. He calls it… dissecting."

Reiben felt his stomach turn. That sounded just like Ralph.

"Whoever catches us is gonna bring us to Ralph," Elizabeth whispered. "And he… he's gonna dissect me for helping you."

Reiben felt like he was going to puke.

"Then I guess we have to kill him first," he said casually, hoping Elizabeth would be convinced. She was.

"Good," she said, content, leaving Reiben to wonder how she changed moods so quickly. "Then we should find Todd."

"_Todd_?" Reiben asked. "…I don't think Todd would help us."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.

"Well, he's definitely not gonna help _you_," she said.

"Why not?" Mellish asked.

"Because of Sally," Elizabeth said, smiling.

"He can't still be mad about that," Reiben said.

Elizabeth and Russell looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Who's Sally?" Mellish asked.

"Sally… was Todd's girlfriend last year," Elizabeth said through her laughter. "And we caught Reiben…"

She stopped there, laughing so hard she couldn't talk.

"Kissing Sally at the mechanic's," Russell finished.

"I was _not_ kissing her," Reiben said angrily. "She _attacked_ me!"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said. "I mean, she was obviously the one kissing you, but that's not what we told Todd."

"We told him you dragged her into the mechanic's and started making out with her," Russell said.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Reiben asked.

Elizabeth scoffed as if the answer was obvious.

"Because we knew he'd believe us."

"And you should be thanking us," Russell said. "When he started that fistfight with you, you totally destroyed him because of us."

"What are you talking about?" Reiben asked.

"We helped you, remember?"

"…You stood on the sidewalk laughing."

"_Helpfully_," Elizabeth said. "We did it _helpfully_."

"Really? Because you also said 'Punch him again, Todd, he's not bleeding yet.'"

There was a moment of silence.

"…Dude," Elizabeth said slowly. "You were on the floor. No one likes to root for the loser."

"I was on the floor because you _shoved _me!"

"_Russell_!" Elizabeth said in mock-surprise. "I told you not to shove Reiben!"

"What are you talking about?" Russell asked. "You said to make sure he was on the ground."

"See, Russell, that's the exact opposite of what I said."

"Are you saying I'm a liar?"

"Are you saying I fight dirty?"

"Why would Todd help you?" Reiben asked loudly, bringing the conversation back to the realm of relevance.

"He won't help _us_," Russell said.

"But he _will_ help Captain Miller," Elizabeth finished.

Todd Fletcher was bad. But he was a different kind of bad than Russell and Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Russell were gang bad, stealing, smoking, threatening people. Todd was the kind of kid you'd see riding dangerously fast in his beat up car, or smoking in the alley, or getting into bar fights, or partying all night and coming home drunk and puking in the driveway. He was the kid who had three girlfriends at the same time, the kid who spent his life in the mechanic's garage, then blew it all on alcohol.

But he was also the one who wanted to join the Marines. And he would do anything for his country. So no, he wouldn't help Reiben, or Russell, or Elizabeth, but he wouldn't hesitate at the chance to help Captain Miller.

"And how are we supposed to find Todd?" Reiben asked.

"He's with Ralph," Elizabeth said.

"But we don't know where Ralph is."

"Once Ralph finds out we have his box, we won't need to find him. He'll find us."

"But… if he finds us, he'll bring guards and surround us."

"Then lets send him a signal."

"What?"

"Look," Elizabeth said. "By now, Pignani would've already told Ralph that I helped you escape back at the wall. That means Neuville's a trap. Because if we were stupid enough to follow Ralph's instructions and bring the box to Neuville, we'd all be killed, since he already knows that _we_ know he's after us. He'll know we went to the river, and he'll assume we're dead, or at least injured from the canoe trap. So now he'll be on his way over here to finish us off. So we should build a fire."

"_What_?" Reiben asked. "If we build a fire, he'll just find us faster!"

"Think about it, Reiben. This whole thing was a trap! Everything we've done since you found me was exactly what he wanted us to do! It was just a distraction. He wanted me to lead you to the box, where Pignani would capture you. That was the first trap. He must've known that Russell and I would help you, because I was supposed to bring this stupid box to Neuville. That was the second trap. It's just paper, Reiben. He doesn't need it. The box was just to keep us occupied. He told me my job was to bring the box to Neuville, but I'm really just the distraction. They're getting their army ready while we're running around with a box full of _contracts_! He knew we'd think we could surprise them and take them down at Neuville. The reason I'm supposed to take you to Neuville is because they're _actually _waiting to kill us all there. That's the third trap. Then they're free to sabotage the rest of the U.S. army."

"And we fell for it," Reiben said.

"What's the fire for?" Mellish asked.

"If Ralph knows we're here," Elizabeth said. "He knows. But he also knows there's ten of us, and the water couldn't kill us all. We ran away from Pignani. But Ralph probably assumes we _attacked_ him andhis thugs. That means most of us were alive when we attacked him, and that we weren't wounded. That also means Ralph thinks that the ten of us were able to defeat Pignani and his twenty thugs. And the fire means we're not hiding, we're inviting him here. Would you show up?"

"…Maybe not," Mellish said. "But what about Captain Miller?"

"If Captain Miller's still alive," Reiben said. "He'd check to see who was making the fire."

"What if he's wounded?"

"…Then he wouldn't be much help to us anyway," Elizabeth said quietly.

"If he's wounded we need to help him," Caparzo said.

Elizabeth sighed.

"Where's Horvath? And Upham? If they're alive, then they're looking for him. _They_ can help him."

"If he needs our help-" Caparzo started.

"He'll come to the fire," Wade said quietly. "Captain Miller wouldn't leave without us. If he can move, he'll come."

No one said anything for a minute.

"Wade's right," Jackson said. "If he's not wounded, he's looking for us."

"I don't know if this is a good idea," Mellish said slowly.

"Ralph isn't one to wait for his prey to wander by," Elizabeth said. "He's hunting us right now. And if he has Todd, he'll find us. Todd knows where we'd go, and what we'd do there."

"What do you mean?" Reiben asked.

"He knows Russell and I have never been in woods as big as these before. He knows we'd get lost, so we must be sticking with you. He knows I can't swim, so either I drowned, or I lost everything I was holding. And he knows we wouldn't be stupid enough to start a fire unless we were challenging someone."

"So if Ralph has Todd with him then he knows we're traveling in a group, we're low on weapons and ammunition, and we're challenging them?"

"Definitely."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, they've probably got the woods completely surrounded, and there's no way we'll get back across the river. So I'd say we just hide in the woods and make them come in after us."

"…How would that help?" Reiben asked.

"If they have to come in after us," Elizabeth said "They'll be traveling in smaller groups, so we'd just have to fight a few at a time. And if Ralph keeps sending in groups that don't come back, eventually he'll just come in himself."

"That's a horrible plan," Reiben said.

"So, you're impressed."

"It might work."

"I'm flattered."

"So, where do we start the fire?"

"Do I look like a boy scout to you?"

"Typical."

Then Elizabeth froze.

"I can't believe it," she said slowly.

"What?"

"That bastard beat me to it."

"What are you talking about?"

"That _bastard_ beat me to it!" Elizabeth shouted angrily, pointing at the sky.

The squad looked where Elizabeth was pointing. Somewhere in the woods, smoke was curling above the trees.

Ralph.

"He's trying to scare us!" Elizabeth shouted. "He thinks we'll be stupid enough to go _around_ his fire and out of the woods, where he's probably got fifty guards waiting for us. He thinks I'm _stupid_! Can you believe that? Well, now I'm mad! Ya hear that, Ralph? I'm _MAD_!"

She stomped around, stuffing the papers back into the box and heading into the woods.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Wade asked.

"What if it's a trap?" Reiben asked.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed.

"He's playing dirty," she said. "He's probably got guards at the fire, _and_ surrounding the woods. Trying to make us think it's a trap, when really, we're dead no matter what we do. He's probably out there looking for us right now."

Reiben grinned.

"Let's go look at the fire," he said. "Just see what he's doing. He'll hate that. We'll leave a signal, just to show him we were there. He'll lose it if he thinks we know exactly what he's doing, while he can't even figure out where we are."

Elizabeth smiled.

"Then we'll come back and build our own fire," she said. "He'll freak out."

They argued for a while, but eventually decided it would be better to split up. Too many people would make it dangerous, and someone had to stay by the river just in case Miller, Horvath, or Upham turned up. They decided Jackson should go, seeing as he knew more about woods than anyone. Reiben argued that he should go, because Ralph was his brother. Elizabeth declared that she and Wade should go along as backup. But the real reason was that Ralph had tricked her, and underestimated her. She wanted payback. And she wanted a medic there when she got it.

Of course, she also wanted Wade to come because he was the only one she trusted to watch her back, even without a gun.

Mellish, Caparzo, and Russell would wait by the river, waiting for Miller, Horvath, and Upham to show up, and to provide cover fire for Reiben, Wade, Elizabeth and Jackson if they came running back through the woods, chased down by Ralph and his guards.

Jackson moved through the woods like a shadow. Slowly, silently, tracking his prey. But the farther away from the river they got, the more he realized there was a problem. It must've been Elizabeth's first time trying to walk through the woods without making a sound, so naturally she'd make some noise. But she was loud. _Loud _loud. Like she was stomping her feet or something.

Jackson turned around and looked at Elizabeth, wondering how it was even possible for her to make so much noise.

"What?" she asked.

"Have you ever been in the woods before?"

"You think Ralph can hear me?"

"Forget about Ralph," Reiben said. "That guy over there heard you."

Elizabeth spun around, just catching a glimpse of a body darting behind a tree.

"Should we shoot him?" Reiben whispered.

"Too much noise," Jackson whispered back. "Ralph would come right over."

"I got it," Elizabeth said quietly. She stomped over to the tree.

"Hey," she shouted. "Wie gehts, Jerry?"

"Shit!" Reiben whispered. "What's she saying?"

"…I think she just asked him what's up," Wade whispered slowly, in disbelief.

"Not German, huh?" Elizabeth asked, slowly climbing up the tree. "Italian, maybe? Come va?"

"What the hell's she doing?" Reiben whispered.

Elizabeth climbed a little higher, then started slowly circling the tree.

"She's distracting him," Wade said, finally understanding.

Elizabeth continued circling around the tree, until she was directly above the soldier. Jackson watched, wondering how she had climbed the tree so quietly when she was so loud on the ground. But Reiben knew. It was all those years of quietly darting up metal fire escape steps, and climbing metal ladders in New York. A city kid like Elizabeth may not know how to walk through the woods, but climbing quietly was easy for her.

Once she was directly above the soldier, she slowly pulled a knife from her field jacket and dropped down beside the soldier. This, of course, she couldn't do quietly. But by the time he heard her land beside him, she already had her knife against his throat.

"Wie gehts, Jerry?" she whispered menacingly into his ear.


	20. Because

"Shit!" Elizabeth shouted from behind the tree.

Unlike in the river, Reiben didn't hesitate. That was a mistake he wouldn't make again. He went around the tree, his heart pounding hard in his chest. What was going on? He gripped his B.A.R. harder, took another step, and came face-to-face with the soldier, who had somehow managed to throw Elizabeth to the ground.

"_Upham_?" Reiben asked curiously. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Rudely," Elizabeth muttered indignantly from the ground.

"She dropped the knife when she saw it was me," Upham said shakily, reaching down a hand to help Elizabeth up. "But I couldn't see who it was, so I shoved her down. Sorry about that."

Elizabeth mumbled something as she brushed herself off.

"I wasted a perfectly good ninja attack on you," she said as she walked away, trying to act like it was nothing. But Reiben could see she was shaking.

"Drop your weapons," a cold voice shouted.

Elizabeth and Upham threw down their M-1 Garands like they were on fire. Reiben slowly placed his B.A.R. on the ground. Jackson was gone.

Reiben slowly scanned the woods with his eyes, looking for Jackson. Suddenly, a man in an overcoat stepped out from behind a tree.

"Hands up," he said. Upham threw his arms up. Elizabeth and Reiben did it slowly, Reiben still searching for Jackson, and Elizabeth sizing the guy up.

"He's not that big," she said. "We could take him."

"Shut up!" the guy shouted. "Turn around, or I'll shoot you."

"Whoa," Elizabeth said mockingly. "Tough girl."

"What the hell are you doing?" Reiben hissed at Elizabeth.

"Waiting for Jackson to shoot him," she hissed back.

Just then, Jackson came around a tree, his sniper rifle missing and his hands behind his back.

_Now?_ Reiben mouthed, thinking Jackson had a plan.

Jackson gave a slight shake of his head before he was shoved forward. A second man stood directly behind Jackson, tying his hands behind his back.

"What was that you were calling me?" the first man asked Elizabeth.

"Nothing."

The man walked behind Elizabeth and pulled out a knife. He gently tilted her head back and smiled sickly at her before pressing the knife against her throat.

"Is the big scary hit man feeling a bit sensitive this morning?" Elizabeth asked him calmly.

Reiben winced. He saw now that Elizabeth would never give up. Not until they were all dead.

"You know what?" the man asked Elizabeth quietly. "I'm not gonna slit your throat. I wanna see you beg instead."

Elizabeth snorted.

"You think I'm gonna beg _you_-"

He shoved her to the ground, knocking her pistol out of her belt and sending it skidding across the leaves. He pointed his gun at her face and she immediately threw her hands up in surrender.

"Please," she said in a voice that Reiben could tell was clearly not sincere. "Don't kill me, I'm begging you."

Wade frantically tried to think of some way to help her, but it was impossible. Especially since she was still taunting him even as he shoved his gun against her stomach.

"Oh, no," she said in a mocking tone. "I'm _so_ scared. Did you even check to see if it was loaded, Superman?"

"I don't know," the man said. "Want me to test it?"

"Do I look like I'm challenging you? Why don't you at least let me off the ground? That'd be awfully big of you."

"Maybe you're not getting it. I'm going to _kill_ you. I'm a _hit man_. An _assassin. _And you're asking me to help you off the ground."

"It'd be the courteous thing to do."

The man leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You're going to die now."

Elizabeth smiled, her pistol now in her hand. She'd been distracting him, taunting him while she slowly reached for the weapon.

"Ladies first," she said. Then she pulled the trigger.

The man immediately dropped his gun, smacking her on the head with it. He grabbed his foot and started hopping around, screaming and swearing until he fell on the ground.

Reiben grabbed his B.A.R. from the ground and pointed it at the man behind Jackson, who immediately let go of Jackson and took a step back. Elizabeth stood up and started pacing, holding her head in her hands, waiting for the throbbing to stop. When she saw that she'd only shot the man in the foot, she swore and kicked a tree, then swore again as she grabbed her foot.

The first man lay moaning on the ground, clutching his foot. The second one had already run away.

Wade went over to the first man, trying to help him with his foot, but the man shouted and started dragging himself away. Reiben and Jackson blocked his escape.

Wade walked over to Elizabeth, who had resumed her pacing, still clutching her head. He gently pulled her hands away from her forehead, where the gun had fallen. It was bleeding, but not that badly, so he decided to leave it, focusing instead on her hands, where the bandages had come off in the river.

As he started wrapping the white bandages around her right hand, he remembered the day they'd found Elizabeth and how she'd told him that the German soldiers had cut her hands. Wade thought about earlier that morning when she'd said that the mafia was working with Italy. That meant they were also working with Germany. So she would've been working with the German soldiers.

"Who really cut your hands?" Wade asked her quietly.

She tensed.

"I already told you. The German soldiers did."

"You said you were working with them."

"Well, yeah, but…. I mean…"

For the first time, it seemed Elizabeth couldn't lie her way out of it. The silver-tongued New Yorker couldn't think of a single excuse.

"Did you do this to yourself?" Wade asked her in a strange voice.

"_No_," she said, sounding insulted. And Wade knew, Elizabeth was a wimp. She hated getting hurt. She'd never _purposely_ cut her hands.

"Then who did?"

Elizabeth shrugged and looked away.

Wade decided to forget about it. He had more important things to think about than something that had already happened. He finished bandaging her hands and they both walked over to Reiben and Jackson, who were questioning the prisoner.

"Who are you?" Reiben asked.

"I'm not gonna tell you anyth- _OW_!"

He howled as Reiben kicked his injured foot.

"Who are you?" Reiben asked again.

"Vandiricci," the prisoner moaned.

"You work for Ralph?"

"I work for a lot of people."

Reiben squatted in front of Vandiricci and gently lifted his foot up. Then he jerked it to the side as Vandiricci shouted in pain.

"You work for Ralph?"

"_YES_! I work for Ralph! Now let go of my goddamned foot, you asshole!"

Reiben dropped his foot painfully on the ground, and stood up again.

"What's at the fire?"

"Nothing. I don't know."

Reiben took a step closer to Vandiricci.

"_NO!_" Vandiricci shouted. "It's a trap! It's a _trap_!"

"What kind of a trap?"

"There were too many of you. Ralph set the fire so you'd split up. I was supposed to take you back to the fire."

"What about the other people? The ones at the river?"

"I don't know," Vandiricci moaned.

"What's gonna happen to them?" Reiben shouted, kicking Vandiricci's foot. Hard.

Vandiricci shouted and swore. He rolled over onto his side and clutched his foot.

"_What's gonna happen to them_?" Reiben shouted again.

"They're gonna die!" Vandiricci screamed, still clutching his foot. "Ralph went to kill them!"

Vandiricci was crying now. Reiben kicked him again, and then angrily took off towards the river. Jackson, Upham, Wade and Elizabeth followed.

They went crashing through the trees, back to the river. But no one was there. They paced around, scanning the ground for any sign of a struggle.

"Hey," someone called in a friendly voice. "Ricky!"

Reiben froze.

"Come here, give me a hug!"

Male. Brooklyn accent. Ralph.

Reiben spun around, but Ralph wasn't behind him. He was behind Wade.

"I only want one thing," Ralph said, wrapping his arm around Wade's throat and putting a pistol next to Wade's head. "One thing, and I'll let you go. Most of you, anyway."

"What do you want?" Reiben asked shakily.

"Well, I want a few things, actually. There are five of you here, and I only need… two of you. So, I need you to kill each other. The two last people standing get to live. For now."

Nobody moved.

"I thought you'd feel that way. So I'm gonna let you choose who gets to live. How's that? Now, if you don't shoot the girl, I shoot the medic."

"Ralph," Reiben said shakily. "You don't need to do this. We have the box, you can take it."

"I didn't _want _to have to do this, Ricky."

"Don't call me that," Reiben said, his voice shaking with anger now, not fear.

"I don't _like _killing people. But I have to, Ricky. That girl was supposed to kill you for me. But she couldn't do it. You're lucky. Out of all the street rats I could've chosen… you got the coward."

Elizabeth didn't say a word.

"Any other gang kid would've killed you. Which, I suppose, makes her better than us. _More morally right._ But she still has to pay, Ricky. And the price for traitors is death. Now take out your gun, and shoot her. Try anything funny and I take the medic down with me."

Reiben waited for Elizabeth's taunting comments, her snappy remarks, but none came. He waited for her to trick him, to cheat, or play dirty. Nothing.

He glanced at her, and that's when he understood. All those times Elizabeth had calmly faced her attackers, and laughed in their faces… that wasn't courage. It wasn't bravery. It was just her knowing she had the upper hand. Knowing she was invincible. Because they were never really going to kill her. Pignani? He was just a distraction, set there to lead them to Neuville. But only Elizabeth knew he was going to Neuville, so she had to stay alive, to lead the squad into the trap. Pignani was never going to kill Elizabeth. She'd gotten away, sure. But if Ralph had told Pignani to kill her, she'd be dead right now. And she knew that.

Vandiricci? He was supposed to take Elizabeth back to the fire. All those threats about him being an assassin, about him killing her… they were empty. Lies, all of them. And Elizabeth knew that, too. But, again, she'd still managed to get away. She was clever enough to escape when they had orders not to shoot her, but not when her attacker wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Why did Reiben suddenly understand this? Because Elizabeth was scared. Her face was pale, she was shaking, her eyes darting around, trying to find an escape route.

That's when Reiben understood another thing. Pignani and Vandiricci weren't supposed to keep her alive because she was important. They were supposed to keep her alive because she was Ralph's kill. And Reiben knew that if Ralph was angry enough to stop his mastermind plan to chase after her, she'd die hard.

"Everyone drop your weapons," Ralph said. Everyone did.

"Now, Richard. I want you to strangle her."

Reiben went as far as to take a step closer to Elizabeth before he decided he would never do that.

"What's wrong?" Ralph asked. "Cold feet? The medic or the girl, Richard. Your choice."

Reiben, unsure of himself now, took a step away from Elizabeth, then changed his mind and took another step towards her. He paused.

"I didn't think you'd do it," Ralph said, dropping his pistol and pulling a knife out of his overcoat. He put it against Wade's neck. "Although it really is too bad your medic has to pay for that mistake."

"No!" Elizabeth screamed.

"What was that?" Ralph asked. "You want me to kill you instead?"

"No," Elizabeth said quickly.

"But the truth is, I don't care about your medic. In fact, it's about to get pretty messy out here, so I'd rather keep him around. It's the girl I want dead. You want to do it yourself, Ricky, or should I?"

Reiben glared at Ralph.

"Alright," Ralph said, pushing Wade away. "I'll just do it myself."

He took a step closer to Elizabeth, tightening his grip on the knife. Elizabeth took a step back.

"Reiben!" she screamed.

Ralph took another step closer to her, and she hurriedly stepped back again, tripping over a stick and falling backwards. Ralph stepped towards her again, and it became a game to him. She tried to drag herself away from him, but he towered over her.

"_No_!" she screamed. "Don't kill me! Please! _Please_! Kill them instead! _Please_!"

She was sobbing now, and Reiben couldn't take it.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "Leave her alone!"

Ralph paused.

"Why?" he asked.

"She's just a kid, Ralph. Let her go."

"Don't tell me what to do," Ralph said angrily. And Reiben realized he'd said the wrong thing.

Ralph grabbed the front of Elizabeth's field jacket, lifted her off the ground, and slammed her against the tree.

Sobbing, she shook her head, still begging him to let her go.

"I'll do whatever you want," she cried. "_Anything. _Please, just let me go."

"It's too late for that," Ralph said angrily. "You had your chance, and you didn't kill them."

Reiben didn't know what to do. Ralph had the knife in his hand, so if anybody moved he'd just slam it into Elizabeth. The rest of the squad was gone, he had no idea where Captain Miller was, and Rebel wasn't here to save them anymore.

Miller pulled himself along the branch, holding onto the boy the whole time. Miller was struck by how small the kid was.

Miller eventually dragged himself and the boy out of the water. He took a minute to catch his breath, and then stared at the boy, wondering what to do with him. The boy was sobbing, searching the water for his brother. If someone else had been around, Miller would've left the boy with them. But there was no one else here, and the boy would die if Miller didn't help him. Besides, the boy was American.

Had he been French, or German, Miller would've left him. Not his job. But he was American, so that made it his job...didn't it?

Miller gently pulled the boy into a hug.

"What's your name?" he asked the boy when he'd finally stopped crying.

"Alfred," the boy sniffed. "Al."

"How old are you?"

The boy held up eight fingers. Miller frowned, surprised. The kid had looked at least eleven standing next to his brother. But without the older boy, Al looked about seven.

"You're eight?"

Al nodded.

"Well, Al, I've got to find my squad. Can you help me with that?"

Al hesitated, then nodded again.

Miller looked around, but his M-1 Garand was gone. So was his field pack. Great.

Miller stood up, and started looking for any sign of his squad. Al wiped his nose, and then pointed to a group of soldiers standing in the woods farther down the river.

"Stay here," Miller whispered. He hurried down the river as silently as he could, then crouched behind a cluster of bushes to assess the situation before he went charging in with no weapon.

It took Miller a second to realize that he wasn't alone. He flinched when he realized there was someone next to him. He was wearing an American uniform, a radio on his back.

"Who are you?" Miller asked.

"Todd Fletcher," he said. "Code talker."

Miller frowned. Fletcher.

"You're from New York?" Miller asked.

Todd frowned.

"How did you know that?"

Miller pointed towards the group of soldiers, where he could see a man holding Elizabeth against a tree.

"_Shit_," Todd breathed.

Ralph tilted Elizabeth's head from side to side, examining her face.

"Where should I start?" he mumbled, brushing the flat part of the knife against her cheek.

"Wait!" Reiben said. "You kill her, you're dead."

"…You're bluffing."

"We know you have Irish gangs over here working for you. Elizabeth already talked to them."

Elizabeth frowned, never taking her eyes off Ralph. She hadn't talked to any Irish gangs.

"They'll stop you, Ralph. And they'll kill you. Elizabeth's the only one who knows where they are."

Elizabeth felt like crying again. She had no idea where the Irish gangs were. And she didn't know what she would say if Ralph threatened to kill her if she didn't tell him.

"I know where they are," Ralph hissed. "With the Ryan kid."

"Who the hell is Ryan?" Reiben asked.

"James Ryan."

James Ryan. Reiben frowned. Wasn't that the guy with the dead brothers they were supposed to go save? But that was before all this. Was that still their mission?

Miller stood up and inched towards Elizabeth.

"You're lying," Ralph said, lifting the knife again.

"Please don't kill her," Reiben said quietly.

Ralph smiled.

"Just for you, Ricky, I'm gonna make this a quick one. We'll go liver, kidney, heart, and that'll be the end of it. But first, she double-crossed me. So now I have to double-cross her."

Ralph lifted Elizabeth's left hand, ripped off the bandage, and gently placed the blade of the knife in it.

"You double-crossed me three times. Once, when you rescued them from Pignani…"

Ralph slid the knife across her palm. Elizabeth screamed in pain and tried to pull away, but he easily held her back. The knife had made a straight line. Ralph slid the knife on her palm again, crossing the first line.

She'd crossed him, so he'd crossed her.

She screamed again. These cuts were light, though. They'd hurt, sure, but they weren't deep enough to stop her from doing much. Of course, the second and third cuts were always deeper.

Then someone punched Ralph on the side of his face and he fell sideways, dropping the knife.

Elizabeth turned to see Miller, standing next to Todd.

A pile of papers fell out of Ralph's coat as he jumped up and darted away. Everyone reached for their weapons, but it was too late. Ralph had gotten away.

"Where's the rest of the squad?" Miller asked quickly.

"Everyone but Horvath was here when we left," Wade said quietly. "We don't know where they went."

Miller looked around.

"Where'd Elizabeth go?" he asked, exasperated.

Everyone glanced around.

"Find her," Miller said. "She couldn't have gotten that far away. Wade and Jackson, you go up the river. Fletcher and Reiben, go down the river. Upham, we'll look in the woods."

Everyone stared at Todd, realizing for the first time that he was there.

They silently split up and searched the woods for any sign of Elizabeth, or the rest of the squad.

Reiben and Todd hadn't gone very far before they found her. She was sitting against a tree, clutching her right hand and crying.

"I'll go tell Captain Miller we found her," Todd said quickly, disappearing into the trees.

Reiben, stunned, watched Todd run away. Run away from his cousin, who was sobbing on the ground, her hand cut up. And Reiben began to get a vague idea of why Elizabeth acted the way she did. How could she not, with a role model like that?

"Hey!" Reiben said. "Why the hell do I gotta stay here?"

But Todd was gone. Reiben sighed, and glanced at Elizabeth. As soon as she thought he wasn't looking, she jumped up and tried to leave, but Reiben grabbed her wrist. She spun around angrily.

"Let me go," she said.

"Where?" Reiben asked calmly.

"Away from you."

That stung. Reiben let go of her wrist.

"You want to leave? Go ahead. Get the fuck away from me."

Elizabeth stepped back, hurt.

"Fine," she said, her voice cracking. "Kill Ralph yourself. It's not my problem, anymore. It was _never _my problem. He's only mad at me because I helped _you_. He only tried to kill me to get at _you_. He's gonna catch you Reiben, and he's gonna kill you."

She shrugged.

"And I hope he does," she said, turning around and walking away.

Understanding crossed Reiben's face.

"You're messed up," he said in disbelief. "You're _messed up_."

Elizabeth spun around.

"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily.

"You're trying to hurt _me _before I hurt _you_."

Elizabeth chewed on her tongue, trying to think of a lie that would get her out of it. But it was true.

"What if I wasn't even gonna hurt you?" Reiben asked angrily. "Then what?"

"Then…" she said angrily. "I don't know! At least I'm not as messed up as you are!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You throw yourself at any girl who'll let you touch them, and then you ditch them. Why, Reiben? Why can't you _care_ about anyone? Maybe I do hurt people before they hurt me. But you end everything before it even _starts, _so that no one can ever, _ever_ hurt you!"

"You think you're better than me, don't you, bitch?" Reiben shouted.

"Those girls make you feel good about yourself, don't they? Why do you do it? Because everyone else is out there making something of themselves and you aren't? They're going to college, they're getting jobs, and you just sit around in your mom's sleazy underwear shop all day."

"It's a _lingerie _shop," Reiben said through clenched teeth.

"Is that why you joined the army? Because you're a nobody and you'll never be anything else? That's why you needed those stupid girls, too, isn't it? So at least you could be good at _something_, you no-talent loser!"

"I'd rather stand here with a million of those girls I don't care about than stand here with _you_!"

"Why? Because you hate me?"

"Because I care about you," he shouted. "All right? But it doesn't even matter because if you leave, you're gonna die!"

"Then maybe I won't leave," she shouted back. "Because maybe I care about you, too!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!" she shouted angrily.

"Fine!" he shouted back.

"Fine!" she shouted.

Elizabeth angrily threw her pack to the ground, kicked it towards a tree, and threw herself to her knees on the ground next to it. She ripped open the pack, and started tearing through it, mumbling angrily the whole time. She wasn't looking for anything. Just a distraction.

After a few seconds, she paused. Her hands frozen in the pack, her gaze still at the ground, she muttered something to Reiben.

"What?" Reiben asked.

She muttered it again.

"I can't hear you," Reiben said in an irritated tone.

"Sorry I called you a no-talent loser," she mumbled.

Reiben smirked. She was the first to apologize, which meant he'd won.

His grin faded as he realized that maybe he _hadn't_ won. Elizabeth was ten years younger than him. And _she'd _apologized first.

When was he going to grow up?

Reiben cleared his throat, kicked at the leaves.

"Am I really a bitch?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

Reiben hesitated, on the verge of lying to try and make her feel better. He thought it over. People had been lying to Elizabeth her whole life. Wasn't that what had gotten her into this whole mess?

What if the reason Elizabeth kept following the squad was for the simple reason that they'd never lied to her?

"Sometimes," he admitted. "But I don't think you do it to be mean. I think…I think that's the only way you know how to stop people from walking all over you."

Elizabeth nodded, still looking at the ground, sniffed, and brushed her hair behind her ear.

Reiben crinkled his nose.

"Am I…sleazy?" he asked.

"No," Elizabeth said. "Well…yeah."

Reiben nodded. He hesitated, and then sat down next to Elizabeth. He lit himself a cigarette and took a long drag before speaking.

"I get with girls because-"

"Get with girls?" Elizabeth interrupted.

"You know what I mean," Reiben said.

Elizabeth just stared at him blankly. Reiben glanced away, embarrassed.

"You know. _Get_ with them."

"_Oh_," Elizabeth said, understanding. "That."

Reiben rolled his eyes.

"I get with girls because…because I-"

"Because you're attracted to loose women," Elizabeth finished for him.

"How old are you?" Reiben asked, grinning.

"Fourteen," Elizabeth said.

"You're unbelievable," Reiben said. "I get with girls because…because you're right. I'm not going anywhere."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm…kind of aimless. And I guess it just makes me feel better to know that I can get girls. Like I'm not so much of a…a failure, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded. She took a deep breath.

"Being in the gang makes me…makes me feel better. Because the only thing I'm good at…is being _bad_. I mean, everyone's good at something. Like, some people are good at math, or singing, or drawing. But I'm not good at any of that stuff. I can't do anything except steal shit. And I…I don't drink because it makes me feel better, or anything. Because it doesn't. I drink 'cause I know I'm not supposed to. And I've always just hoped someone would notice, I guess."

Reiben glanced at her.

"No one ever did," she admitted quietly.

Reiben nodded. He understood. She just wanted someone to care enough to try to stop her. She was acting out for attention.

"…Reiben?"

"Yeah?"

"…I wanna go home."

"Me, too."

Elizabeth took a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry I tricked you," she said slowly.

Reiben glanced at her hand. He felt a pang of guilt when he saw that it was covered in blood.

He nodded, his throat tight. What else had Ralph done?

"Wasn't your fault," he said quickly, standing up.

He held out his hand. Elizabeth hesitated, and then took it. He helped her up, and picked up his B.A.R.

He watched her pick up her M1 Garand, biting his tongue to hold in the words he desperately wanted to say.

_I'm sorry I let him hurt you. _


	21. Love

**So, I haven't updated this in forever. I've been having a lot of trouble with it lately. I actually switched from public to private school this year, and I've had a lot of extra work, so I'm switching back in two weeks...so I'll have a lot more time. I've been thinking about this story, and I've decided that if I get enough reviews, I'm going to start this up for real again. I'm going to take a little break and work on my other stories, like Final Rallying Point, but I'm going to be a lot more interested in writing this story. Just depends on how many reviews I get, because if not that many people are reading it, I don't know..**

**Also, there's a link on my profile to a survey. ****I know it was on my profile for a while before, but I just found out that was the wrong link. This is the right link, though. If you have time, it's just a really quick survey to help me with this story, and some of my other stories too. Thanks!**

Elizabeth stood at the edge of the river, watching the water run continuously onward.

If only she could do the same.

All her life, she'd dreamed of leaving New York. Now she understood that she'd never be anything but a worthless street rat, surviving off the misfortune of others.

"Hey, kid," a voice said next to her.

She turned, expecting Reiben, and found Caparzo. She stared up at him, intimidated. Elizabeth had always been intimidated by anyone bigger than herself.

"I'm from Chicago," Caparzo continued. "So I get it, alright? My little brother, Frankie? He was into some serious shit last year. Lost a lotta money gambling, owed a hell of a lotta shit to a couple of guys in the mafia."

Elizabeth glanced at the river, listening intently to what Caparzo had to say, even as she knew it wouldn't end well.

"You get him out?" she asked quietly.

"Hell, yeah. You don't turn your back on family, right?"

Elizabeth glanced down the river at her cousin, Russell.

"But your brothers in jail now, huh?" Elizabeth assumed.

"What? No," Caparzo laughed. "Not ever story ends that way, Fletcher."

"Well, mine does. And Russell's. That little kid Miller pulled out of the river? Well, the odds are in his favor. He's gonna be shot in a gang fight before he's twenty. Me and Russ, though? We're gonna sit in jail. We're gonna rot."

She lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

"Those things'll kill ya," Caparzo said, lighting one for himself.

"Eh," Elizabeth spoke around the cigarette. "I don't think I'll live long enough for the cigarettes to do me in."

"You know, nobody said you _had_ to die soon."

Elizabeth glanced at Caparzo, one eyebrow cocked curiously.

"Just leave the goddamned gang," Caparzo continued.

"Not that easy. Rule number three of the Five Points Gang…the only way out is death."

"They can't kill you if they can't find you."

"Funny thing about that. Gangs have a way of following you. God, they're worse than cops that way."

"Fletcher, I got a moral question for you," Reiben said as approached the duo by the river, a small book in his hand. "If you find a man's diary…you should read it, right?"

"Hell, no!" Elizabeth said. "You can't read someone's diary, man!"

"Oh, okay. Then I guess I should just dump Pignani's in the river, huh?"

Reiben dangled the book over the water.

"Give me that!" Elizabeth shouted, snatching the book and rifling through it.

"You just said it was wrong!" Reiben protested.

"What do _I_ know about morality?" Elizabeth said with a shrug.

"What does it say?"

"…I killed him," Elizabeth read slowly. "I killed him and stuffed him in the church attic. They're all looking for him. When the coast is clear, I'll bury him. But not yet."

"Who did he kill?"

"It doesn't say."

"Doesn't matter," Russell interrupted. "Gangs kill people every day. Could've been anyone."

"…Except that it _wasn't_ anyone," Elizabeth whispered. "Russell, how many gang members do you know keep a diary?"

"I think the better question is, how many gang members do I know that can write?"

"Exactly. This isn't a diary, Reiben, it's a captain's log."

"But why would he have a captain's log if…" Russell began.

"If he wasn't a captain," Elizabeth finished. "I need a phone."

"A _phone?_" Reiben asked. "No way in hell you're finding one here."

"Then where's the closest town? I need a phone, Reiben. This is important."

"There's no way we're going halfway across France looking for some fucking phone that – "

"The kid said she needed a phone, Reiben," Caparzo said slowly. "So we're gonna get her a phone. Got it?"

Reiben grumbled, but turned around to tell Miller of their latest discovery.

Miller sighed and glanced at his map.

"There's a town nearby. How important is a phone right now?"

"If I get a phone…we can take them down," Elizabeth said quietly.

Miller nodded, and they set off.

"I still don't get why we're walking around, looking for a damn phone," Reiben complained as they neared the town.

Wade rolled his eyes as he breathed heavily under his large backpack.

"Because we need a phone, Reiben. How many times do we have to explain it to you?" Mellish asked.

"Until it starts to make some fucking sense."

Elizabeth stared cautiously at the trees.

"What the hell's up with you, Fletcher?" Reiben asked, glancing at the trees himself.

"I don't like woods," Elizabeth said quietly.

But that wasn't the truth. She had seen something.

"Dogs," Jackson whispered.

"What?" Miller asked, spinning around.

"Dogs…Dogs!" Jackson grabbed his pistol and backed up, the others following suit.

Three vicious German Shepherds snarled their way out of the woods, followed by three German soldiers. The German soldiers shouted a command, and the dogs attacked.

The first dog ran for Miller. Jackson shot him, and the second and third dogs came charging.

One of them jumped at Elizabeth, mouth open, preparing to bite, and Jackson threw his arm in front of Elizabeth. The dog bit down, and Jackson shouted.

The third dog had Reiben pinned down, preparing to bite his face, when Rebel crashed into him from the side.

Both German Shepherds immediately left Jackson and Reiben and tore after Rebel. Two against one, Rebel was quickly cornered. He growled and bit the first dog, and was pummeled by the second dog. Reiben grabbed his B.A.R. and tried to get a shot.

The three dogs blurred together, and Reiben frantically tried to separate them in his eyes. Rebel yelped, and Reiben let out a small burst of fire. The first dog went down, and Caparzo shot the second with his pistol.

Rebel lay in the dirt, a gash in his side. His body heaved up and down as he dragged in ragged breaths.

"Rebel," Elizabeth moaned. "No. Please, no."

The dog stared at her with longing eyes, and she dropped to her knees in front of him. His large brown eyes seemed to ask her what was going on. Rebel, of course, knew nothing of wars and religion and enemies and broken treaties and dictators and hatred.

All Rebel knew was that he was in pain.

Elizabeth cradled Rebel's head in her lap, and gently stroked his fur as three shots rang out. Elizabeth flinched, and hatred poured into her heart. She wished she could've shot those three Germans herself.

"Rebel," she whispered, tears dropping slowly down her face. "Rebel, please. Stay with me."

"Kill it," Miller quietly ordered Reiben.

Reiben stared at the dog with his usual resilience. The stone face he reserved for killing. He would kill the dog and be done with it.

He took a step forward, and then turned around.

"_It_ has a name," he hissed. "And it's Rebel."

Then he grabbed his pistol and approached Elizabeth.

"Kid," he said slowly.

"Don't do it," Elizabeth begged, never lifting her eyes from her dog. "Please, Reiben. For the love of God, don't do it."

Jackson gently pulled Elizabeth away from Rebel, but she resisted. She screamed and kicked and writhed. Jackson held her in his strong arms and dragged her away.

"No!" Elizabeth shouted. "Reiben, please! Help me, Jackson!"

Jackson spun Elizabeth around and pulled her head into his chest, covering her ears with his hands.

The shot rang out, and Rebel yelped in pain.

Reiben swore. His hand had been shaking so much that he missed Rebel's head and hit his shoulder instead.

"God, no," Reiben pleaded. "Rebel…"

Elizabeth screamed, tearing away from Jackson.

And she ran.

She ran as fast as she could.

And it still wasn't fast enough to stop Reiben from shooting her dog.

"Rebel!" she shouted, throwing herself on the ground.

She lifted his head into her lap, and he gently licked her hand.

"Don't you dare kill my dog," she hissed at Reiben. "I'll hate you forever. Don't you dare."

Reiben lifted his pistol, hands shaking.

"No," Elizabeth sobbed. "Rebel…good boy, Rebel. Good boy. I love you."

She held onto Rebel tightly as Reiben killed him.

Her entire body shook at the second shot, and she gently laid Rebel's head on the ground. Caparzo didn't try to pull her away. He didn't force her to leave the only creature in this world who had ever truly loved her. He just sat silently beside her in the dirt. He put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into a hug. As Elizabeth sobbed into Caparzo's chest, Reiben wiped his own eyes angrily,

That dog saved his life. And he just shot it.

"Reiben, we should probably bury – "

"Get the fuck away from me, Jackson!" Reiben hissed.

"…You had to do it, Reib– "

"Leave me alone!"

Jackson backed off as Reiben stomped over to the Germans' bodies and kicked them furiously. Then he disappeared into the woods.

Elizabeth stopped crying just as quickly as she had started. She wiped her eyes, and looked down at Rebel.

"We have to bury him," she said, suddenly all business.

Caparzo nodded, and stood up, reaching for a shovel.

"I want to do it," Elizabeth said quietly.

Caparzo glanced at her in surprise.

"If you get another shovel – "

"I want to do the whole thing myself. He was my dog. And I owe it to him. I'm not gonna be lazy and…and let someone else bury him while I just sit around. I want…I want to do it."

Caparzo nodded and handed her the shovel. Then he left her to it.

Miller turned away as Elizabeth dug. He only ordered Reiben to shoot Rebel because the poor dog was suffering. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

It took her hours. They buried the other three dogs as Elizabeth dug and dug. When she finished, she reached under Rebel and tried to lift him. He was too heavy for her, and she dropped to her knees again. She wiped her eyes and angrily tried to lift Rebel. Tears dripped down her face as she fell to her knees once again.

Caparzo and Jackson silently lifted Rebel and gently laid him in the dirt.

Elizabeth lifted her shovel to fill in the hole, and Reiben grabbed her wrist.

"Let me," he whispered.

"Get away from me," Elizabeth hissed.

"Please."

He needed to do this. He had loved that dog. And he needed to bury him right.

Elizabeth let go of the shovel and walked away. Reiben filled the hole, and touched his right hand to the ground. He let his pulse gently pound the earth, willing it to reach Rebel. To give him one final loving pat.

"It's done," he said sullenly, approaching the squad.

Elizabeth shoved past him and grabbed her backpack. Reiben sighed and picked up his own backpack.

No one spoke until they reached the village.

"Naw, the phone's on the other side!" a general informed them over the roar of the rain. "It's been pretty quiet over on this end so far, if you want to make a run for it."

"Someone's gotta go first," Miller instructed, turning to the squad.

"Jackson, you go," Miller ordered.

Jackson nodded and tore across the street. Nothing happened, and the squad followed quickly after him.

They got about halfway across the town when they encountered a family of four hiding in a destroyed building.

The squad ignored their cries for help. All but Caparzo.

"Captain, we've got to help them," he insisted, holding the girl in his arms. "It's the decent thing to do."

"We're not here to do the decent thing! We're here to follow fucking orders!" Miller shouted.

Elizabeth stood on the side. Why did that girl deserve to be rescued? No one had rescued Elizabeth Fletcher.

A shot rang out, and Caparzo fell.

Reiben shoved Elizabeth to the ground, and she followed him behind a car. She stared at Caparzo, bleeding on the ground, calling out to Mellish. Something about a letter.

Jackson crawled over to another car, and knelt behind it. Elizabeth watched as he aimed his sniper rifle towards a blurry building. Elizabeth squinted her eyes, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She cursed Jackson for wasting time on random buildings when Caparzo was dying in front of their eyes.

"You're just gonna leave him there?" Elizabeth whispered.

"We'll get him," Reiben assured her.

Horvath was holding a shouting Wade back against the rubble as Reiben and Elizabeth crouched behind the car. Elizabeth clenched her eyes shut against the noise. The pounding rain, Caparzo's dying wish, Jackson's rifle shot, Wade's shouts. Everything echoed in her head. She saw Rebel's bloody body in front of her eyes, and she lost it.

She threw herself on Reiben and punched him.

"What are you doing!" he shouted.

"I hate you!" she screamed.

Jackson pulled her away, kicking and punching.

"It's all your fault! I hate you!"

All children have a natural inclination to blame others. It makes it easier for them to turn pain into anger. It allows them to give a reason as to why scary things happen.

Children become frightened when things happened randomly, and without reason. It's much easier for them to pretend that another person is the source of all their problems that it is to accept the scary truth - that strange and horrible things happen when we least expect them to.

"You killed him!" Elizabeth shouted. "I loved him, and you killed him!"

_It's not that simple!_ Reiben wanted to scream.

He hadn't _wanted_ to shoot the dog. But Rebel was suffering.

Wade gently laid a blanket over Caparzo's body as Elizabeth furiously kicked at the rubble. Reiben picked up his backpack, and grabbed Elizabeth's. He held it out to her.

Yeah, she had screamed that she hated him, but it wasn't the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last. They got mad at each other all the time. He was constantly pushing her away, but she always came back.

As Elizabeth shoved past him, however, Reiben wondered.

How many times can you push a kid away before they stop coming back?

For the first time in a year, Reiben thought he understood why he slept with women. He thought that sex was love. And he wanted love. He wanted what they talked about in books, when someone actually cares about you for more than your jokes or your handsome face. When someone cares about you for you. Sex, he had told himself. Sex is love at his finest. And man was _he_ loved.

But at that moment, he glanced over his shoulder at Elizabeth, who he'd probably just lost forever, and knew that only then, at that exact moment and for the first time in his life, did he understand anything about love.


	22. Alone

**So, I finished this a lot sooner than I thought I would. It's shorter, but I'm hoping that it gives you a look into why certain characters act the way they do...**

We lose a lot of things when we're forced to change.

Fredrick Reiben left his family when his sons, Ralph and Richard, were eight and six.

Ralph was forced to become a man at the age of eight. He joined a gang, he stole, he killed. And he learned to enjoy it.

Richard became obsessed with leaving others. It was his idea of payment. His father had left him, and that wasn't fair. So he would use a girl for her body, and then leave her. Because that wasn't fair, either.

And if something unfair happens to you, then something unfair should happen to everyone else, right? If someone leaves you, someone should leave everyone else.

Because _that's_ fair.

Anthony Caparzo loved his sons. But little Adrian worried him. Adrian didn't enjoy wrestling or baseball cards when he was a boy, and he didn't enjoy drinking or smoking when he was a man. Adrian enjoyed playing hide-and-go-seek with his nieces and cooking. _Cooking_, for crying out loud.

So Anthony asked him to change. He told him to enter the army. Adrian, always wanting to impress his father, obeyed.

It wasn't until Anthony got a letter informing him of his son's death that he missed what his son had been before he tried to change him. A sweet boy who loved children, as opposed to a brave, dead soldier.

Much like Fred Reiben, Allen Fletcher left his wife and children behind. His daughters, Colby, Elizabeth, and Kerry, were sixteen, ten, and eight.

Charlotte Fletcher, the mother of these children, fell into depression. Her life was filled with alcohol and self-loathing.

And so everyone around her was forced to change.

Colby became the parent. The responsible young woman who watched after her mother, and two baby sisters.

Kerry became the fighter. She'd pick fights in the street whenever someone pissed her off. She saw her weak mother wallow in her own sorrow, and decided right then and there that she would have no part of it. So she forced herself to become strong. So that no one could ever hurt her the way she'd seen her father hurt her mother.

Elizabeth fell into organized crime. She wasn't always bad. She changed because everyone else did. She had been a hungry child, a result of one mistaken, drunken night. But she hadn't been a criminal. Until circumstance forced her to change.

She no longer had a working father to feed her. So she decided to feed herself.

She no longer had a mother and father who at least went through the motions of loving her. A hug every now and then, a happy birthday every year. When that, too, was taken away from her, she learned to find love in other places.

Money.

Elizabeth Fletcher learned to love money because it was the only thing that seemed to love her back. When she had money, she was happy. And love causes happiness, am I correct?

We lose a lot of things when we're forced to change.

Innocence is generally the first casualty.

Happiness, love, and life die soon after.

"How does he do that?" Reiben asked quietly.

Elizabeth stared silently at Jackson, who was sleeping peacefully.

"He can sleep 'cause every time he pulls the fucking trigger, he pretends he's sending lambs to God," she said bitterly.

"You don't believe in God?" Reiben asked, turning to look at her.

"_What happened, Elizabeth?" a drunk Charlie asked, pointing to the television. _

"_God saved the guy on the T.V." six-year-old Elizabeth answered. _

"_No, he didn't."_

"_That's what the guy said."_

"_God didn't save anybody."_

"_He saved that guy."_

"_What did you say to me?"_

"_God saved that guy."_

"_Give me your fuckin' arm."_

_Elizabeth obeyed, and Charlie pinned her daughter to the ground and burned her arm with a cigarette. _

"_Go ahead!" Charlie hissed. "Pray! Beg God to save you!"_

_Elizabeth screamed. _

"_Where is he, huh? Where's God? 'Cause he sure ain't here, helping _you_!"_

_Where is God? Elizabeth didn't know the answer at six. But she did now. _

_He's not here._

"I don't believe in God, and I don't believe in you," she said simply to Reiben.

Then she got up and walked to the other side of the room.

Reiben stared at a candle, his mind drifting off.

"_Richard, you fucking idiot!" his father shouted, slapping him across the face. _

"_You keep your hands off him!" his mother screamed. _

"_Why the hell you keep interruptin' me?" _

"_The good Lord won't let you do this!" _

_Well, guess what?_

_He did. _

_And He didn't bother stepping in when Reiben's father raped his mother, either._

_And if God doesn't show up to stop things like that…then why bother showing up at all?_

"Actually, the trick to falling asleep is trying to stay awake," Wade said.

"How is that, Wade?" Mellish asked.

"Well, when my mother was an intern, she used to work late through the night... sleep through the day. So the only time we'd ever get to talk about anything is when she'd get home. So what I... I used to do, I used to lie in my bed and try to stay awake as long as I could, but it never worked 'cause... 'cause the harder I'd try, the faster I'd fall asleep."

"Yeah, well, that wouldn't have mattered none in my house," Reiben murmured. "My ma, she would've come home, shook me awake, chatted me up 'til dawn. I swear that woman was never too tired to talk."

"That was probably the only time she could get a word in," Mellish said.

"Only thing is, sometimes she'd come home early, and I'd pretend to be asleep," Wade continued.

"Who, your mom?" Mellish asked quietly.

"Yeah. She'd stand in the doorway looking at me… and I'd just keep my eyes shut. And I knew she just wanted to find out about my day… That she came home early... just to talk to me. And I still wouldn't move... I'd still pretend to just be asleep…I don't know why I did that."

"Because you were mad at her," Elizabeth said quietly.

Wade turned to look at her.

"You were mad at her for not being around when you needed her. So, when she was there…when she went out of her way to be there for you…you wanted her to know what it felt like to be all alone."

Wade stared at her.

"…How do you know that?" he asked quietly.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him, turned around, and pretended to fall asleep.

_Because I do it to you_, she thought.


End file.
